Set in the fictional country of Nechora, Head of State follows newly elected Mo, as he accidentally becomes an over-the-phone therapist to the world’s most powerful leaders.
Head of State is a brand new feel-good political satire for desperate times that explores the challenges faced by the global Left and the back catalogue of Ariana Grande.
Written by Rob Thorman, the show satirises different countries’ demons, explores how everyone in the world is still reeling from the same technological revolution and pushes audiences to see the climate emergency as an unprecedented opportunity for collaboration and a chance to bridge the global divide.
Akshay Shah plays the charismatic left-wing firebrand Mo – Nechora’s newly elected Head of State – while Lawrence Russell plays every other country. The show is powered by an intense duel, as Mo’s chief of staff Joe – a centrist, sceptical of Mo’s grand ideas for change – throws everything and every character he can at Mo, to prove that Mo’s belief in a greater world is dangerously naïve. Rather than parody living world leaders, every country is personified as a recognisable personality disorder that Mo has to befriend, psychoanalyse and cure, all over the phone, in just a few minutes.
If the reality of the world feels too much to bear this February, retreat into a new fantastic fantastical political satire and treat yourself to Head of State @ The Vault Festival.
Head of State is at VAULT Festival 4th – 6th February 2020.
