Theatre review: POTUS, fortyfivedownstairs

Audiences have long been fascinated by what happens in the corridors of power and Selina Fillinger’s 2022 play POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive whets the appetite with a farcical interpretation of one calamitous day at the White House. (The play was due to premiere in Queensland in August last year, but its opening night was postponed and then its entire season was cancelled.)

Read: Queensland Theatre axes entire run of hit Broadway play

There are corridors aplenty when the lights come up on the Australian premiere of the play. Sophie Woodward’s set design sees rows of chiffon curtains carve out corridors that transform seamlessly into various nooks and crannies as the cast manoeuvre the curtains across the stage. These set changes are as fast as the dialogue that has an Armando Iannucci, of Veep and The Thick Of It fame, style.

There’s not much in POTUS that can’t be found in an episode of Veep. Both present a satirical farce that takes place in the White House and centres a woman’s – or in POTUS’ case several women’s – frustration with a bumbling egoistic President and gender-based barriers they experience. It’s unsurprising POTUS can’t quite keep up with the big budget Emmy-award winning TV show with a robust writers’ room and must settle for comparison instead.

What can’t be found in Veep – namely higher stakes farcical chaos and injections of slapstick – is too reminiscent of other farcical productions to feel original. The 2007 film Death at a Funeral comes to mind for this reviewer. The layers of quandaries specific to POTUS are often too improbable to suspend disbelief and the reliance on a number of deus ex machinas brings the building tension of the production to an unsatisfying close.

But Marni Mount’s direction and the cast’s comedic chops ensure laughs regardless. The standout performance of the night is Carolyn Bock in the role of Harriet, the President’s highly respected and competent right-hand woman. Or, basically, the person doing the President’s job for him. As soon as we’re introduced to Harriet, Bock nails the physicality and tone of proprietary and capability synonymous with government establishments.

She then carefully and realistically unpicks Harriet’s sense of calm and control as the farce builds, resulting in a textured and engrossing interpretation of the faceless staffers and bureaucrats who keep governments running. Lucy Ansell as Dusty, an enigmatic free-spirited woman flown in from the South, wrings out the laughs of her one-note character and plays as confidently with the audience as Dusty does with men off stage. 

Mount has a strong handle on the breakneck comings and goings required in farce and a penchant for visual gags, but the physicality required for the slapstick jokes to land and the comparison between front facing and behind the scenes personas that add fuel to the comedic fire isn’t as polished. 

Read: Theatre review: Tim Minchin – First at the Foundry

All in all, POTUS is a farcical romp that can’t escape the shadow of Veep, but still provides much needed laughs.

POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive
by Selina Fillinger, fortyfivedownstairs
Director: Marni Mount
Set and Costume Designer: Sophie Woodward
Lighting Designer: Richard Vabre
Sound Designer and Composer: Rachel Lewindon
Stage Manager: Jessica Smart
Set and Stage Management Intern: Bailey Tynan
Cast: Lucy Ansell, Carolyn Bock, Candy Bowers, Jen Bush, Liliana Dalton, Hannah Greenwood, Tilly Legge and AYA
Tickets $40-$55

POTUS will be performed until 2 March 2025.