the 2016 presidential campaign has been a uniquely american phenomenon. but the mockery of it? that<u+2019>s universal. around the globe, comedians impersonating donald trump and hillary clinton <u+2014>far more often mr. trump<u+2014>have put their own spin on the candidates. here, a sampling: when alexander sparrow appears as donald trump in a show now touring new zealand, he brandishes something most of his rival impersonators can<u+2019>t: his own hair. the 23-year-old performer has styled his tresses into a platinum ducktail with the help of four boxes of hair dye. when he appeared on a morning tv show recently, his splayed hands and squint were firmly in place, as was his bravado. referring to rugby players, he said, <u+201c>i took all of them on myself, and i won, obviously.<u+201d> fans forgive his occasional local slips, like when he said he flew to new zealand on his own <u+201c>private jit.<u+201d> <u+201c>i like canada. it<u+2019>s america<u+2019>s hat.<u+201d> so states the donald trump of the north, played by mark critch on the canadian comedy show <u+201c>this hour has 22 minutes.<u+201d> mr. critch uses phrases like <u+201c>am i right?<u+201d> and <u+201c>it<u+2019>s tremendous<u+201d> to channel the republican nominee. mr. critch, 42, who has played canadian prime minister justin trudeau on the show<u+2014>opposite the actual mr. trudeau<u+2014>said applause by the studio audiences gives him the extra jolt of confidence he needs to channel mr. trump. <u+201c>as long as you<u+2019>re completely confident, facts don<u+2019>t matter,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>he<u+2019>s like a snowplow of confidence.<u+201d> cathy jones puts on fake teeth to turn herself into mrs. clinton, an act she is still refining after performing just twice as the candidate on <u+201c>this hour has 22 minutes.<u+201d> in a recent satirical <u+201c>eye of the tiger<u+201d> music video about her debate prep, she uses a thigh master, jumps rope and crushes her phone one-handed when bill clinton calls. ms. jones puts a canadian spin on her hillary. <u+201c>let me follow in the footsteps of your first female prime minister, jean chr<u+00e9>tien,<u+201d> she says in one skit, fumbling mr. chr<u+00e9>tien<u+2019>s gender. the 61-year-old performer said in an interview that she is working on new material: <u+201c>i had an idea she<u+2019>d say something about how, <u+2018>every time you go to buy a pantsuit, they take your email.<u+2019><u+201d> al foran has performed as mr. trump at comedy clubs, on college campuses and even at weddings. though he looks nothing like the candidate<u+2014>his white-blonde wig clashes with his beard<u+2014>the 24-year-old impressionist can sound pretty familiar. the former retail supervisor lives with his parents and often features his mother in sketches. <u+201c>i beat hillary convincingly in the second debate, i beat her convincingly,<u+201d> he says in a recent video shot in their dublin kitchen that racked up 87,000 views on facebook. <u+201c>you<u+2019>re an idiot,<u+201d> his mother can be heard replying. <u+201c>get out! you<u+2019>re an immigrant here.<u+201d> a comedy troupe in blonde wigs has been performing <u+201c>los hijos de trump,<u+201d> or <u+201c>the sons of trump,<u+201d> across mexico since the start of the presidential race. produced by comedians known as los mascabrothers, the slapstick-heavy show mocks a republican nominee whose campaign has antagonized many mexicans and other latinos. in the show, the fake trump tells his associates to <u+201c>steal, kill, blame others,<u+201d> the christian science monitor reported last year. the publication described a mexico city performance where an audience full of the candidate<u+2019>s critics was <u+201c>belly laughing in approval.<u+201d> write to ellen gamerman at ellen.gamerman@wsj.com
international comics hone their clinton, trump acts - wsj
ellen gamerman