POTUS

A Farce With Teeth

The Royal Underground Theatre Company presents POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, Selina Fillinger’s breakneck political farce about power, damage control, survival, and the women forced to clean up the mess. It’s sharp, chaotic, profane, and built for a room full of people who know exactly how ridiculous leadership can become when competence is left to everyone except the person officially in charge.

One questionable comment is about to cause chaos at the White House. This fast paced, political farce follows the seven women closest to an incompetent and unseen President, as they scramble to maintain public image. Over the course of one chaotic day, these women navigate political crises, personal conflicts, media disasters, and unexpected mishaps, all while trying to protect their own sanity and futures. This play highlights the often overlooked labor, intelligence, and resilience of the women operating behind the scenes of power.

In her production of POTUS, Anna Oglesby - Smith is drawn to not only the play’s sharp political satire, but also to its reimagining of the traditionally male dominated genre of farce. Historically, farce has centered on a masculine hero. Placing their mistakes, ambitions, and misadventures at the heart of the comedy. Playwright Selina Fillinger boldly subverts that tradition by placing seven women at the center of the chaos. Although the President sets the events of the play into motion, it is the women around him who drive the story, navigating an increasingly absurd crisis with intelligence, resilience, and humor. Oglesby - Smith’s vision embraces the fast paced physicality, heightened theatricality, and escalating stakes, that define great farce while grounding the characters in authentic human relationships. Through laughter and mayhem, this production celebrates women occupying space both in politics and comedy.