When a White House PR nightmare spins into a full blown shitshow, seven brilliant and beleaguered women must risk life, liberty, and sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble.
Lightning Jar Theatre presents the Australian premiere of this whip smart, all female farce by Selina Fillinger (The Morning Show), “located somewhere on the satirical dial between 9 to 5 and Veep” (The Washington Post). Returning to fortyfivedownstairs for the first time since their enormously successful production of Mr Burns: a post electric play (Green Room Award Winner for Best Independent Production) in 2019, Lightning Jar is excited to team with director Marni Mount (whose acclaimed production of Trophy Boys has been one of the great success stories of 2023-2024) and a stellar cast that includes Candy Bowers, Lucy Ansell, Carolyn Bock, Candy Bowers, Jen Bush, Liliana Dalton, Hannah Greenwood, Tilly Legge, and AYA.
“A lot has changed since Mr. Burns,” says Lightning Jar. “We wanted our next show to be relevant, funny and intelligent. We’ve always been very discerning with our play selection and with POTUS we knew we’d finally found our next show. An all-female farce set in the world of US politics felt so right for us! POTUS is dedicated to all the women who have been relegated to secondary status behind a buffoon of a man. Despite the divisiveness of US politics, we felt the experiences represented in this play are universal; it doesn’t matter what administration is in charge, idiocy is bipartisan. We read POTUS for the first time with gasps of surprise, bursts of laughter and sighs of sympathy. We can’t wait to have our audiences do the same!”
“I’m thrilled to welcome Lightning Jar Theatre back to fortyfivedownstairs,” says Artistic Director Cameron Lukey. “We’d been discussing projects for several years before they sent me the script for POTUS, and I was immediately hooked. In deciding who should direct, we all agreed that Marni Mount would be the ideal choice following her hilarious and razor sharp production of Trophy Boys by Emmaneulle Mattana. Together, Marni and Lightning Jar have assembled a wonderful cast who are going to have an absolute blast playing these characters. I think POTUS will be as perfect for patrons who want to rage against the state of politics as it will be for those who want a bonkers, thoroughly entertaining escape from reality!”
February 13 – March 2
Image: Cameron Grant
POTUS Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive