Mock Power with Music
A Global Remixable Musical Antidote against Autocrats.
“…Dictators hate people who laugh at them. It’s easy for them to destroy people who resist them. But if you create jokes against them, write funny poems or articles against them, then they feel helpless and desperate. They can’t do anything….”
Burhan Sönmez President of PEN International
TYRANTS & SAINTS
“When Heaven launches a controversial soul-redemption program, the Gatekeeper—a rule-bending celestial bureaucrat—conspires with the deeply cynical Chief of the Underworld to sabotage it by recruiting history’s most notorious tyrants, unleashing a relentlessly revealing, wickedly absurd, and immortal-powered musical comedy.”
This musical pulls no punches—it’s darkly funny, biting, and unapologetically satirical. Think Yes, Minister on steroids, where every line drips with irony and every song is a sharp jab at the machinery of power. It’s designed to mock the absurdities of authoritarian rule by using the same tools autocrats have always feared most: humor, music, and public storytelling. Through laughter, it exposes the well-worn playbooks used by dictators throughout history—mechanisms dissected in works like The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Dictator’s Handbook, and 1984, but here turned into something accessible, performable, and viral.
Humor as Resistance
Autocrats can censor speeches and control media, but they can’t stop people from humming a tune. Just like Ze Frank’s viral “I’m About to Whip Somebody’s Ass” allowed millions to voice their frustrations through melody, this musical is a platform for everyday resistance. It transforms fear into mockery and control into chaos—all set to a beat. The goal isn’t just entertainment—it’s to help people reclaim their voices, in private or on stage, by laughing at the ridiculous rituals of power that have been recycled for millennia.
a framework for infinite stories
Whether you’re staging it in a theater, a classroom, a village square, or your living room, the musical is a toolkit for creative dissent, uniting humor and music to shine light into even the darkest corners of power.
Create. Remix. Perform
This is your invitation to join a global creative rebellion. Download the core script, remix the characters, write new songs, or drop your local despot into the story. Whether you’re a theater kid, a protest poet, a bedroom songwriter, or just someone fed up with your mayor—this stage is yours.
This musical is built to be radically adaptable—an open stage for satire that anyone, anywhere can perform with minimal setup. The story revolves around four core characters who encounter a rotating cast of local autocrats, allowing each production to customize the show to reflect its own social or political landscape. By turning authoritarian figures into objects of humor, the musical aims to erode fear through laughter, empowering communities to reframe power with creativity and wit.