“Fake news. Fake songs.”— Mr. Pres
About
What makes a leader truly great? For one vain, unpredictable, and strangely likeable president, the answer is simple: legacy. He doesn’t just want to be remembered — he wants to be immortalised.
Mr. Pres is a biting new political comedy about a fictional U.S. president who is desperate to go down in history as the greatest of all time. He craves applause, needs constant reassurance, and dreams of seeing his face etched alongside the giants of Mount Rushmore.
But behind the swagger lies deep insecurity, fuelled by the shadow of a father whose approval he never earned. When a peace prize proves elusive, and a land grab turns out to be trickier than it looks, the president hatches his boldest plan yet: to reinvent government itself.
Flanked by loyal advisers, a weary First Lady, and a daughter struggling under the weight of expectation, his quest for greatness spirals into delusion. What begins as a bid for eternal glory becomes a tragicomic portrait of ego, vanity, and the fragile human need to be loved.
With echoes of Shakespeare’s King Lear and the absurdity of modern politics, Mr. Pres combines satire with surprising heart — skewering the theatre of power while inviting us to see the insecure human being at its centre. Funny, fast-paced, and unsettlingly familiar, this is political theatre for an age when reality itself often feels like parody.
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Synopsis
A (somewhat) fictional president resides in the White House. He's vain, unpredictable and polarising – but somehow we can't help but like him. His ambition is to become THE GREATEST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY, and he hatches a plan to make it happen.
First, he sets his sights on a Nobel Peace Prize, but finds that for every war he "ends" another one appears in its place. Mr. Pres has appointed his friends as his closest advisers. They suggest a quick win by acquiring the country of Greenland, but that proves difficult too.
The President goes to bed, disillusioned. In the Residence, we meet the President's wife, the First Lady. She knows her husband is a complicated man, but she remains devoted to him in spite of his flaws. As the president sleeps he is troubled by a dream in which he is visited by his dead father. Mr. Pres desperately pleads for paternal approval – something he has felt has been missing all of his life. He wakes up in a cold sweat. He has a big idea. His birthday is coming up, and he plans to make a big announcement.
The birthday arrives and a grand military parade is held in honour of the president. We meet the Secret Service detail, who are cheerful and upbeat despite their potentially life-threatening occupation. Mr. Pres proclaims from the podium that democracy is now outdated, and the country is going to become... a MONARCHY! It's the answer he has been searching for – something that no other president has done, and an act that will ensure his name remains in the seat of power forever.
His advisers are nervous about the plan. Mr. Pres brushes it off, fantasising about having his head added to the great presidents on Mount Rushmore. His BIG PLAN would see his daughter, his eldest child, inherit the throne after he is gone, and he takes her aside to discuss his ambitions for her. She feels the pressure of parental expectations, and an argument ensues. The presidential advisers all resign in protest over the president's delusions of grandeur. Mr. Pres is left to muse why people always leave him.
Undeterred, Mr. Pres imagines how wonderful it will be when he is king. No one will compare to him. He will truly be THE GREATEST. Full of giddy thoughts, he treats himself to the remains of his enormous birthday cake as a late-night snack, before retiring to bed.
He is visited in his dreams again by his father. Mr. Pres assumes he has appeared to congratulate him on his plan and finally show his approval. But his father has unexpected news. Mr. Pres is informed that his time is up, and that he has lived his final day on earth. Mr. Pres is horrified – he was so close to becoming king – but there is nothing he can do.
Fade to black.
As light returns, Mr. Pres is lying on his bed. He opens his eyes, and realises, to his joy (and surprise) that he has gone to heaven. Looking around he sees the pearly gates and the streets of gold. His eyes light up. A big smile appears on his face as he imagines what he will be able to achieve in heaven. Surely, it will be BIGGER AND MORE IMPRESSIVE than anything he achieved while alive.
He signs off with the observation that he has done everybody a big favour. If it hadn't been for him, the people would not have realised how bad things could get – "How would you know what heaven was if I hadn't put you through hell?!".