Chastity Quirk is a receptionist in the Oval Office. She loves her job, she loves Jesus, she loves her sorority sisters and she loves America. She’s also ruthlessly ambitious, calculates that being a sexy girl next door who makes people feel special by remembering which candy they like is the way to the top, and never stops to think that other people around her might be playing the same games.

This is a fun romp, a biting satire and a surprisingly poignant cautionary tale. It doesn’t make the mistake of demonising its targets; it accepts MAGA Republicans on their own terms and shows that their attitudes are as self-destructive as they are bigoted and cruel. Leigh Douglas makes Chasity genuinely appealing even when she’s dumping her old-school Republican boyfriend because he wants the party to have some standards, or she’s agreeing to spy for the Chief of Staff.

The ex-boyfriend is the closest thing to a decent person in her world. Her dislike of the Democrats may influence what she chooses to tell us about them, but the most famous democrat (who could be based on Hillary Clinton, or Nancy Pelosi) barking at her to get umbrellas and calling her incompetent when she can’t find the right amount or the right colour doesn’t paint the opposition in any kind of moral glory. Power corrupts, and even someone with good politics might be terrible as a person.

It’s even harder in politics for a woman, and MAGA women can’t even complain about it. Chastity makes friends with Candace Monroe, a tough, matter-of-fact, just-do-it type, who fires herself for being old and childless. It’s Monroe who triggers Chastity’s slapstick journey to redemption. It turns out some of the stock phrases she endlessly repeats about Jesus and freedom might actually mean something to her. At any rate, she’s not going to be a human sacrifice for a bunch of sexist old men.

There’s some very funny jokes, things like gluten intolerance being fake news from ‘the woke media’ to steal America’s baked goods, and a cheerleading song from her collage days with the refrain ‘Jesus loves the hot ones’. There’s also an exciting thriller plot that works played for laughs and could work played straight. It would make a great film. And the theme is horribly relevant. Is it worth doing terrible things to prosper working for terrible people? Will the prosperity last? Will you pay for their crimes? It’s a dilemma that goes beyond MAGA.

‘ROTUS: Receptionist of the United States‘ is at Gilded Balloon Patter House – Snug until Sun 24 Aug 2025 at 15:40