The 47th—The Old Vic (London) — Page 2

I saw this about a week ago and have been thinking about it quite a bit since. The play is nothing like what i expected it to be. Spoken in a Shakespearean sort of dialogue it really takes a bit to get into it, hearing a spot on trump impression speaking like that. But once i adjusted to that, I thought it worked beautifully. It’s obviously very timely but I think it’s so “of the moment” and the way the play is written, it will actually be outdated in 2 years after the next election so they’d better hurry up and bring it over if they want to. Not saying it won’t still be a good play but the play ponders the question of what will happen in the 2024 election, that’s the plot.


There is one thing that really bothered me about it and it’s something that consistently bothers me. That is the portrayal of Biden as a feeble, senile old man which is so f*cking dangerous. SNL and others do this repeatedly because it’s a cheap laugh but perception is reality and in 2 years, will people vote for what they perceive to be a senile old man? It’s dangerous.

Caught this on my recent West End trip, and I enjoyed it but didn't love it. I think I wish I knew Julius Caesar better before going into this since it seems like thee are a lot of references to it, but I wasn't quite clued in on what they were. I thought the very first scene and Trump's entrance was a rather inspired bit of direction but the extended monologue in a Shakespeare-esque wording took me a bit out of it to imagine Trump being able to speak so eloquently, but I did like how they handled the later forms of direct address.

The first act was a bit slow for me, and nothing that was said there really came as a revelation or a surprise so I didn't feel super engaged (he plays a fairly minor part, but how familiar with Ted Cruz as a political figure are people overseas?), and the ending felt a little too pointed and on the nose. The second act though I really enjoyed, as it took a larger departure from what we already know/predict about Trump's mannerisms and delved more into political intrigue/morality. Despite not liking the ending of the first act, I really liked how it played into the events of the second act, which also felt a bit more Shakespearean (which for me made it more interesting).

Outside of Bertie, I agree that Tamara Tunie as Kamala and Lydia Wilson as Ivanka are the best parts of this show (I admittedly haven't really followed the press conferences/debates as much as other people so I can't speak to how accurate their portrayals are, but as actors they were quite engaging). And I agree that Joe Biden seemed underutilized here, with barely even an attempt made at a proper impression. It feels a bit like real person fanfiction but I did really like the character arcs for Kamala and Ivanka, and honestly it's just a joy watching Bertie on stage. Also, the Old Vic is a GORGEOUS theater.

I am kind of surprised no one is producing this in the US in the Fall, I know anything Trump related might be a hard sell, but also considering Mike Bartlett has had several NY productions (King Charles III, Cock, Love Love Love, Bull) kind of seems like someone would take a swing at it, if only to cause a stir

Also what happened to Prince Fag**T? which was supposedly another future history play about (Trumps kid?) growing up to be gay that Jeremy O'Harris was producing

Updated On: 7/1/24 at 03:23 AM