REVIEW | Trompe L’Oeil, The Other Palace

Trompe L’Oeil at The Other Palace Photo by Danny Kaan

★ ★

Reviewer - Bronagh

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review

---

Trompe L’Oeil promises cabaret, circus and musical theatre songs – the perfect trio in my opinion! Add in Donald Trump’s ascent to presidency… it’s got to be good, right? I wanted to love Trompe L’Oeil. I really did. It promises everything that I love about theatre, and what I think can make an amazing show. But it just did not do it for me, personally.

Trompe L’Oeil starts with Trump making a Faustian bargain with Putin, ending in him agreeing to have a remote-controlled vice placed around his testicles. He does, of course, win and we follow him through the COVID pandemic and his Twitter escapades all while Putin is looming in the background. His employees try and fail to rein in his behaviour, only to get fired on the spot. This is all quite basic, and the type of stuff we have likely all seen in memes about Trump. Not to say it isn’t funny, but it was quite meme-like to me.

Elsewhere, we have the love story between RIP and Demi. RIP starts off as a Trump supporter, while gender obscure Demi is at the opposite end of the Trump supporting spectrum. To be fair, I did root for them to get together and liked how this could be seen to represent the USA beginning to heal following Trump’s presidency.

I just found the whole thing quite clunky and at times, confused. I really did like the elements inspired by surrealist pieces of art; and thought these were cleverly inserted throughout. Not that any of the characters were allowed to say the word surreal without being twisted out of shape and into a surrealist sculpture themselves. Maybe not so subtle. The music was good, with a few catchy songs thrown in there and impressive vocals throughout.

I will make it very clear that I think the cast are beyond talented. Emer Dineen’s take on Donald Trump is brilliant, and almost like watching the man himself (a compliment, I promise!). Sarah Louise Hughes bounces between characters seamlessly and without breaking a sweat. Olivia Saunders sex doll-esque take on Ivanka Trump is a highlight, and generated the most laughs. The rest of the cast are as equally fantastic, showcasing some real dance and musical talent. I actually loved the costumes and setting, which made great use of the small space.

As previously mentioned, I wanted to love Trompe L’Oeil but it just didn’t do it for me. Maybe a lot of the show was lost on me, I would still encourage anybody interested to go along and see it. A huge bravo to the cast who are so talented, and I hope to see them in other productions in the future.

At The Other Palace until 15 October.