Oh, Mary! creator Cole Escola talks Miss Piggy, historical anarchy & making their West End debut

Ahead of taking over the title role in Oh, Mary! at the Trafalgar Theatre this July, Tony Award winner Cole Escola poses as the iconic Bystander Man for Tatler.

Oh, Mary! is the comedy gift that keeps on giving! Fresh from winning the 2026 Olivier Award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play, the show’s brilliant creator, writer, and original star Cole Escola is officially crossing the Atlantic to make their highly anticipated West End debut in Oh, Mary!.

To celebrate Cole’s upcoming limited London run, reprising their Tony Award-winning role as Mary Todd Lincoln from 20 July to 15 August 2026, they have taken centre stage as the cover star for Tatler’s July issue.

Posing as the magazine’s iconic “Bystander Man” as Tatler marks 125 years since its 1901 relaunch, Cole Escola spoke about the runaway success of Oh, Mary!, their thoughts on British comedy, and their upcoming, highly secretive Hollywood projects.

Tatler July 2026 issue - Cole Escola. Photo by Oli Kearon

Tatler - October 1989 covers, featuring Stella Tennant and Lady Louisa Howitt (née Stuart)

Tatler July 2026 issue – Cole Escola. Photos by Oli Kearon

“It’s Like Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors”

Since debuting Off-Broadway in 2024 before exploding onto Broadway, the historically inaccurate, wonderfully unhinged comedy Oh, Mary! has become a theatrical phenomenon. For Escola, the show’s unstoppable momentum feels beautifully chaotic.

“I just can’t believe it’s still growing. It seems dangerous. It’s going to kill somebody,” Escola comments. “It’s like Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors. The plant is going to take over the world in a horrible, awful, bad way, but we just keep feeding it.”

Remarkably, the seed for the show was planted way back in 2009. It took fifteen years of perseverance, and lots of false starts, before Oh, Mary! finally made it to the stage.

“I had a lot of projects that didn’t go anywhere. I was sort of disheartened, but more taking stock of myself and trying to figure out if I should maybe pivot into something else… I don’t mean another career entirely. I can’t do anything else and it’s too late for me to learn,” they reveal. “But because I always had that Oh, Mary! idea, I thought, well, at least get this out and then after you’ve emptied the tank in terms of ideas, we can reassess where we’re at in life and career-wise.”

View live availability for Oh, Mary! tickets in London

Oh, Mary - Broadway. Conrad Ricamora and Cole Escola. Photo Emilio Madrid — *Oh, Mary – Broadway. Conrad Ricamora and Cole Escola. Photo Emilio Madrid*

Zero research, maximum camp

The premise of the play tracks a miserable, suffocated, whisky-drinking First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, in the weeks leading up to her husband’s assassination. When asked about how much historical research went into writing the script, Escola admits the answer is exactly zero!

“I guess it was never really a question or a decision, to be honest. It came pretty easy to me. I wish I could say I was dying to do research and had to stop myself out of artistic principle, but that’s just not true.”

The role has already been inhabited on Broadway by a stellar lineup of American comic royalty, including Jane Krakowski, Tituss Burgess, Maya Rudolph, and Jinkx Monsoon. Escola played the character on Broadway for a year before passing it on:

“It’s so corny, but when I was a kid, I was begging my friends to make movies with me and stuff. And to see actors I admire, excited about something that I created and wanting to be a part of it and bringing new things to the role, it’s a nice feeling.”

Now, British comedy legend Catherine Tate is embodying the role at the Trafalgar Theatre, following on from Mason Alexander Park, who originated the role in London.

“It never occurred to me that she would ever want to, but I have been a fan of hers for a long time,” Escola says of Tate. “I spend Christmas in New York, and for many years, my friends and I would watch the ‘Nan’ Christmas sketch.”

However, handing the bratty curls over to other actors hasn’t been entirely easy. When asked how they feel about no longer portraying Mary Todd Lincoln, Escola confesses: “It’s a limb that I miss.”

*Oh, Mary! to star Cole Escola in the West End. Broadway photo Emilio Madrid*

From the Olivier red carpet to Miss Piggy

Escola made history last year as the first ever non-binary performer to win the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, stepping out in a show-stopping, frothy Wiederhoeft ballgown inspired by Bernadette Peters.

“I have the taste and palette of an idiot,” Escola jokes about the dress. “I sent a picture of the dress to my friend David [Moses], who’s a stylist, and said, ‘I want to wear something like this.’ Then we showed it to the designer, Jackson Wiederhoeft, and he was, like, ‘Well, what if it mostly is that?’”

They brought that same signature high-fashion camp to London for the 2026 Olivier Awards, ending up at the afterparty at the Natural History Museum.

“I didn’t look up once. Why didn’t I take in the beauty of the actual museum? I was more interested in what [Olivier-winning actress] Tracie Bennett was doing, which was looking stunning and having a ball.”

Beyond the West End, Escola’s star is continuing to skyrocket. They are currently filming season 3 of Netflix’s cult live-action pirate fantasy series One Piece (“I don’t know what I’m allowed to say. Netflix might kill me. They’ve been known to kill people… That’s what they did first, before producing Orange is the New Black,” they joke).

Also on the horizon is the upcoming Miss Piggy movie, produced by Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone, with a script written by Escola.

Book tickets to Oh, Mary! at the Trafalgar Theatre in London

Olivier Awards 2026 - Cole Escola picking up his award. Photo by Charlie Flint — *Olivier Awards 2026 – Cole Escola picking up his award. Photo by Charlie Flint*

“What makes Miss Piggy such an icon? That she’s so awful,” Escola says. “She behaves in a way we all wish we could behave. And we all do sometimes behave. I think her needs and desires come from a place of pain. And I think that is something that strikes a chord in people. But I don’t think any of that is visible, or it shouldn’t be. It should just be funny and fun. Her incredibly high opinion of herself and her self-esteem and self-assuredness – all of it is delicious.”

When asked who gives off the ultimate real-life Miss Piggy energy today, Escola bypassed politicians and landed perfectly on faux-heiress Anna Delvey.

“Showing up to Fashion Week with the ankle monitor? That’s Miss Piggy. She should be writing the movie, not me. She’ll run away with the money and not work, which is exactly what Miss Piggy would do.” As to whether Miss Piggy would make a good Mary Todd Lincoln? “She’d be the best Mary. She really should have originated the role, but I was greedy.”

A nod to British roots

As Escola prepares to take over the Trafalgar Theatre this summer, they left UK readers with one final, characteristically sharp gag to prove they will fit right into the West End.

“I just want the readers to know that I do have British roots. My grandmother is from Liverpool, which is why my teeth look like this.”

The full interview with Cole Escola is available in the July Issue of Tatler, via digital download and on newsstands from Thursday 4 June. Read the interview here.