UK turns to Google for public sector AI delivery.
IDF-linked US tech firm Palantir awarded yet another UK Government contract.
Amazon scoops £1 billion taxpayer contracts despite ‘union‑busting’ allegations.
Nvidia and Microsoft bosses hail huge UK AI investment.
Headlines such as these leave many readers with a sense of lingering unease. You know, what with the increasing scale and influence of big tech in our lives, our government and public services. We can trust them – right? Right?
Dan Bishop feels uneasy about it too.
But instead of writing about it on Twitter/X or discussing it in answer to a family member asking “what do you think about AI” at Christmas dinner (perhaps he did that too), the emerging young playwright has written Target Audience – a dark comedy play set in the near future.
Set to debut at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, it will explore the increasingly complex relationship between the media, government and technology.
But with the goal – too – to make you laugh.
So, what’s the plot summary? “It’s set in a TV production company that is bought by a tech conglomerate, which has links to a weapons manufacturer,” Bishop said.
“So, then in an attempt to sanitise the perception of the defence industry, the producers are tasked with writing a pro‑weapons sitcom. And so they get this new hotshot writer in, Tobias, and they ask him to pen this pro‑weapons sitcom – and he then has to choose between his morals and his mortgage.”
The writer and comedian said that the inspiration behind it came from how the big tech hegemonies “seem to seep into every kind of aspect of our lives”.
Bishop added: “This play in particular looks at how it is infiltrating art and the defence industries. But sometimes it’s often the same companies.
“I guess with Amazon, it’s probably the touchstone example. Amazon, of course, started off as an online retailer, then is now a huge movie studio after joining with MGM. But it’s also Amazon Web Services, a cloud platform that hosts AI software used in drone warfare and has contracts with the UK Ministry of Defence and the American Department of War as well as Project Nimbus with Israel.”
He said that while this is “bleak”, a lot of comedy comes from juxtapositions and contrasts.
Bishop’s debut play Brainsluts sold out at the Fringe last year and received outstanding critical reviews – including being shortlisted for the Popcorn Writing Award and a Charlie Hartill Finalist.
When asked about any similarities or differences between Brainsluts and Target Audience, Bishop said they are both political and set in one room.
“This one definitely has a much larger scale in what it’s trying to talk about,” he added.
And on the topic of why folk should come and watch this new production, Bishop highlighted his cast.
“The cast are just so funny. If you want something that is really, really going to make you laugh, a play that’s genuinely as funny as a stand‑up show or a sketch show, then please go and see Target Audience,” he said.
“At a time where culture is being eviscerated by these huge tech companies, I think it’s just great to support any sort of live comedy or theatrical experience, but I think one that is speaking to that issue is probably worthwhile as well.”
Target Audience is published by Methuen Drama and will be performed at Pleasance Courtyard between Wednesday August 5 and Sunday August 30 (not 17th) at 16.50.
