‘It’s not a game for gentlemen we’re playing,
Political and civilized. This is
Historic’
2024. As America goes to the polls, democracy itself is on the brink. Who takes the White House – and at what cost?
Mike Bartlett’s viciously funny and foreboding The 47th is a dazzling glimpse into the underbelly of the greatest political show on earth: the US presidential race.
It was first produced at The Old Vic, London, in March 2022 by The Old Vic, Sonia Friedman Productions and Annapurna Theatre, directed by Rupert Goold, and featuring Bertie Carvel as Donald J. Trump, Tamara Tunie as Kamala Harris, and Lydia Wilson as Ivanka Trump.
‘Gripping… relentlessly enthralling… a wilfully audacious drama… and my god it’s entertaining: the plot grips mercilessly… tremendous’
— Time Out
‘Mike Bartlett’s satire blends billionaire pomp with political chicanery, dynastic family drama and blank verse… the play sparkles with delightful lines’
— Guardian
‘Utterly, utterly gripping… the serious imaginative heft of Bartlett’s writing is thrilling… both fascinating and frightening… sensational… a knockout punch’
— WhatsOnStage
‘Exceptionally entertaining’
— Broadway World
‘Taps into the heightened, malevolent energy of the Trump years in a fantastical account of the US presidential election campaign to come in 2024’
— The Stage
‘A picture of US politics drawn broadly but boldly with all the skullduggery of its Shakespearean prototypes… a rich mix of comic and serious… unpredictable, totally engrossing, and also very funny’
— British Theatre Guide
‘A riff on Shakespearean tragedy with a punchy contemporary angle… Mike Bartlett has crafted an epic’
— Independent
