Theatre review: IvankaPlay, Underbelly - Cowgate, Edinburgh

"It’s fucking hot being a princess," says a fictionalised Ivanka Trump, echoing Paris Hilton in attitude as well as look.
IvankaPlay. Underbelly (Venue 61)IvankaPlay. Underbelly (Venue 61)
IvankaPlay. Underbelly (Venue 61)

IvankaPlay, Underbelly - Cowgate, Edinburgh * * *

This one-woman show attempts to place itself inside the head of the United States' current First Daughter, whose status as half of one of the nation's liberal power couples has been flipped on its head by the election of her father as Republican President. No matter, though; political allegiances can be undressed out of as quickly as the designer fashions which earn adoring mention in her every anecdote.

In the world of this Ivanka, the words said by an old schoolfriend immediately after the election ring around in her mind; that this is her and her husband Jared Kushner's chance to make a real difference. On the rare occasions she turns on the television news she sees children in cages, which she doesn't like the sound of. Surely her daddy can do something about this? But the more awkward questions she asks, the less he takes her calls.

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On one level, Snowy Owl's play is a typical Fringe pen portrait of a current political figure which revels in their brand recognition. Yet Charles Gershman’s script and McLean Peterson’s performance reveal a nuanced character; too smart to be a dumb blonde and too human to be dismissed as a villain, instead this piece creates in her a convincing portrait of 21st century hyperprivilege.

Until 25 August

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