Sheffield theatre group's blond ambitions are set even higher with new Trump show

Sheffield's Blowfish Theatre had great fun lampooning the current Foreign Secretary in Boris the Musical but now they've set their sights on a far bigger political target.
David Raphael Burchhardt as Donald Trump, encountering President Putin (Natasha Lanceley)David Raphael Burchhardt as Donald Trump, encountering President Putin (Natasha Lanceley)
David Raphael Burchhardt as Donald Trump, encountering President Putin (Natasha Lanceley)

So lead actor David Raphael Burchhardt gets to don an even crazier wig to play the role of US President Donald Trump.

The show is set at the point in 2020 where he’s running to clinch his second term of office in the White House.

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Writer Laurence Peacock said that Trump was a natural progression after the success of the Boris Johnson show.

“We were joking about it at the time, mainly because, like everyone else, we didn’t think he’d win.

“He did and we’re delighted. It was written at the end of last year and now we’re making it.

“It’s like Boris but basically bigger, better and worse!”

Laurence said that, rather than the revue-like feel of Boris with its sketch and song format, Trump has far more of a plot.

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The other key characters are President Putin, King Nigel Farage the First of England and North Korean premier Kim Jong Un.

Laurence said: “It’s a nuclear and political farce with an irreverent and comedy element.

“It has an original score and it’s a bit less pastiche and the music is better integrated into the performance.

“We really feel like we’ve taken a step up. We’re really excited and we want to show it to people.”

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The lead character has dictated a change from the first show, he added.

“Boris was affable and charming and bumbling. This is a bit darker and more grotesque.

“David hasn’t lost that high energy and anarchic irreverence. We see it as a positive development.”

Laurence said that Doncaster theatre Cast had been very supportive of the show, which was mostly created in their rehearsal space.

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They were kind enough to call next week’s shows the musical’s world premiere, to the surprise of Blowfish.

Laurence said that the Boris show has been put to bed for the time being, “unless something dramatic happens in Boris politics, then we’d like to completely rework it.”

Laurence admitted he’s started to “vote the wrong way, just because it’s good for business”, so he’s obviously not left Boris completely behind.

He added: “Boris makes a cameo appearance in Trump.”

However, David is now enamoured with playing Donald Trump and Laurence said he’d really got his teeth into the role.

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Unlike Boris the Musical, the Trump show will not be constantly rewritten to keep up with events as that just wasn’t practical and proved too expensive for a small company of six actors and musicians producing shows on a shoestring.

In any case, a show that has Nigel Farage as the king is way more far fetched than a political satire based more strictly on real events.

Isn’t it?