FINDING MELANIA

A twisted dark comedy about the fascination and lure of masculine power and the women who submit all.

Melania – once an enigmatic beauty, now pretty much forgotten – is discovered years later living somewhere deep in the bowels of the White House. Holding on to her husband’s belief that they will one day return and Make It All Great Again, she welcomes ‘an audience with Melania’ and lives out her memories, dreams, and fantasies. A dark clown show exploring the grotesque behind the glamour and what it takes to ‘stand by your man’. Drawing on dictator wives, populist methods, karaoke and asking us to consider our responsibility in the making of a monster.

Merging clowning, absurd and dark comedy to ask:

What did it take to prop up Donald and his authoritarian demands?

Finding Melania offers a brutal interrogation of women in positions of power through a grotesque caricature of an aged Melania Trump reliving her memories in an isolated dystopia.

We ask audiences to question the role of women who prop up monstrous authoritarianism, what does it take to play the role well and what is left when the dictator inevitably falls?

Partners and Support

24 September 2021:	Camden People’s Theatre
28 & 30 April 2022:	Canal Café Theatre
16 – 29 August 2022:	Underbelly Festival, Edinburgh Fringe
23 March 2023:	Rosemary Branch Theatre
27 May 2023:	Cornerteateret, Bergen Fringe Festival, Norway
22 – 23 June 2023:	The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol
12 – 17 September 2023:	The Drake Theatre, Philadelphia Fringe Festival
21 – 23 May 2025:	Rosemary Branch Theatre
25, 27 & 28 May 2025:	Ironworks, Brighton Fringe

Creative team

Theatre

Conceived & Performed by:		Denise Stephenson
Direction & Dramaturg:		Sarah Calver
Production Design:		Sarah Calver
		Evie Fehilly
Sound Design:		Nicola T. Chang 張彤
Stage Management:		Sam Campbell
Graphic Design:		Émilie Chen
		Iona Kirk
Images & Media:		Sarah Calver
		Alexander Stagg

Cast

Melania:

Denise Stephenson

Film

Conceived & Performed by:		Denise Stephenson
Direction & Dramaturg:		Sarah Calver
Production Design:		Sarah Calver
		Evie Fehilly
Video Director:		Evie Fehilly
Camera Operation:		Anton Berggren
		Natalie Hermelin Aström
Sound Design:		John Chambers
Lighting Consultation:		Claire Childs
Art Department:		Lucca Benney

Cast

Melania:

Denise Stephenson

Reviews

★★★★
The Scotsman

“The masterful Denise Stephenson’s surreal comic creation inspired by former First Lady Melania Trump is an otherworldly treat…” – The Scotsman

“She’s a strangely compelling presence, whether lovingly stroking the walls of the tiny room in which she’s performing or barking commands at the audience.” – The Stage

“…a strong piece of clown surrealism worth experiencing.” – The Wee Review

“An excellent comedic insight into the world of the most powerful First Lady with the least power to control her life.” – Brighton on the Inside

Meet our product

Design & craft

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