Trompe L’Oeil review: Trump is the butt of the joke again
How many fringe theatre and cabaret shows have made Donald Trump the butt of their jokes? Surely it’s in the thousands. It must hard to offer fresh material, so kudos to Trompe L’Oeil for finding new life in him yet.
In this musical cabaret the former president is played by Emer Dineen, who portrays a drag king version of Trump (the opposite of a drag queen, meaning she’s a woman who dresses as a man.) It’s joyous and plainly powerful just to see a woman claiming Trump’s words, but she also nails the impression.
Wearing a ridiculously overstated belly that looks literally like a cushion protruding from her midriff and a quiff that’s tainted a horrible cigarette smoke colour, Dineen is a hoot. She must have spent hours in the face gym to perfect her pout that somehow feels terrifyingly close to the real thing, but also completely exaggerated.
The show is essentially a whistle stop tour through Trump’s presidency, from his inauguration to his plans for the US/Mexico Wall, the pandemic and, of course, his love for social media. Trompe L’Oeil had a successful Off-Broadway run in 2021 and following a small London fringe version in 2022, arrives at The Other Palace Theatre’s smaller space. (Ian McKellen, who is starring in Frank and Percy upstairs, would love this and it’s hard not to think of him delivering his lines metres away in some other part of the theatre.)
Written by Henry Parkman Biggs, Trompe L’Oeil has some hilarious songs, not least Marvellous Me, which is exactly what it sounds like: a satirical Trump solo so thick with self-love you can barely look. Putin gets to sing too, as he plays a key role in a fictitious element of the script. Trump and Putin have made a deal with one another which means he’ll stay president in return for being allies with Russia. There’s a good gag about how Trump gets his testicles put in an electric vice grip which goes off every time he fails to agree with Putin.
There’s a strong supporting cast helping to pull together images of the various moments of Trump’s presidency, including a love story between two symbolic characters, Rip the Republican and Demi the Democrat, who is trans, but they fall in love despite their differences. The ensemble perform some rousing songs, including Bounce, where Trump fires members of his team callously, and there’s a genius version of Putting on the Ritz with Putin and his cronies.
Trump gags are starting to feel a little tired but at the centre of Trump LOeil is an excellent comedic performance well worth the ticket price. Its zany songs and characters mean it’s also commendably weird enough to warrant bringing Trump back.
Trompe L’Oeil plays at The Other Palace until 15 October