You’re retired: Satirist takes final bow as Trump
There can be no denying that the end of Donald Trump’s term as president of the United States will have an effect on the world at large, but for Kiwi comedian Alexander Sparrow it has a very immediate, practical consequence: He gets to grow a beard.
Sparrow has spent the past four years impersonating Trump in comedy shows that have toured the country and brought him international accolades, but he is putting the character into hiatus as of inauguration day tomorrow.
‘‘I think having toured all over New Zealand with three different Trump shows over the last four years, that audience has now exhausted itself,’’ Sparrow said.
While in character, Sparrow remained clean-shaven in imitation of the 45th president’s style, and even cut and dyed his own hair into Trump’s signature coiffure.
Sparrow also adopted Trump’s facial expressions and mannerisms, which required significant research.
‘‘Reading about his childhood, it does seem that no matter what he turned into, his parents had an interesting parenting style.
‘‘His mother was extremely hands-off . . . and his dad was massively overbearing.’’
This didn’t make Sparrow agree with Trump, but it did help to understand him.
In his 2017 show DJ Trump, which Sparrow reworked for last year’s farewell tour, he played Trump as a wannabe hip-hop recording artist.
Audiences for his tours were almost uniformly ‘‘anti-Trump’’, Sparrow said, but by the end of the show they would be on their feet chanting the chorus: ‘‘All hail DJ Trump!’’
That gave an insight into how Trump’s success and continuing popularity.
‘‘If I can get them to do that within the context of a comedy show, imagine what it would be like facing this constant barrage of news material,’’ said Sparrow, who will now focus on stand-up comedy and writing fiction.