Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Target Audience
Dan Bishop in association with Pleasance
Genre: Theatre
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Word has come down from on high that the people in power need help in changing the public mood, nudging them towards accepting the need to prepare for conflict. With the production team facing an existential scripting crisis, they dangle an enormous financial carrot in front of a struggling novelist to help them rework a couple of their hit shows to the satisfaction of the suits in the C suite. But writing a ‘pro-weapons sitcom’ means Tobias faces a stark choice : principles or pay cheque?
Review
Tobias sits nervously centre stage, bag clutched to his chest, cycle helmet still on his head. Scattered around him are the typical accoutrements of “creative space” in a studio production centre – couch to lounge on, easy chairs, well-stocked refreshment cabinet, wilting house plant and the ubiquitous whiteboard.
Word has come down from on high that the people in power need help in changing the public mood, nudging them oh so subtly towards accepting the need to prepare for conflict, rather than just worrying about the price of fish or the latest social media fad. This has resulted in Tobias, a novelist whose writing wins lots of awards but hardly shifts any books, receiving one of those “drop everything, come and help us and we’ll give you a ridiculous amount of money” calls as the production team gather with a view to urgently reworking a pair of hit shows to please the suits in the C suite. But writing a ‘pro-weapons sitcom’ means Tobias faces a stark choice : principles or pay cheque?
Writer Dan Bishop’s Target Audience is, on one level, a highly entertaining, almost relentlessly funny sixty minutes that shines the spotlight on the constantly shifting sands in the creative arts industry. On another, it’s a slightly dystopian, though an arguably worryingly accurate take, on how allowing political or financial goals to compromise editorial independence risks eroding a principle essential to a functioning democracy. Either way, it doesn’t waste words, poses a number of interesting dilemmas and leaves the whole thing dangling over the proverbial cliff edge with a denouement that is as clinical as they come.
The action unfolds in a series of nicely choreographed and staged scenes, allowing the motives of, and relationships between the characters to be explored through sharp, often witty dialogue with an abundance of corporate gobbledigook, obsession with what the data is (allegedly) saying and the need to refer almost every decision to those “upstairs” who’s objectives, in turn, are in a constant state of flux. It’s a sharp reminder of reality in the cutthroat commercial world.
The acting is top notch, with James Coward (Angie/Angus) alarmingly redolent of a certain Meta executive in appearance, mannerisms and extensive lexicon of meaningless corporate cliches. Oh, and a refusal to countenance anything that might get in the way of profits. Henry Calcutt is the personification of a principled, angst-ridden writer, who’s inherent politeness ensures that dithering pushes any decision into the “too difficult” box. And RhéAna Kamalu (Isobel) is pitch perfect as the overworked but very sharp millennial intern, without which most organisations would come to a shuddering halt.
Completing this excellent quartet was Mollie Windust who gave a consummate performance as Bruiser, Angie’s data driven, fast-talking, highly strung, whiteboard focused assistant with her deadpan delivery and innate sense of comic timing creating laughs in some quite unexpected places.
This is theatre that entertains in spades and has your brain buzzing the whole time as the neurons assimilate the action unfolding before you. It’s tempting to recommend Target Audience using the corporate mission mush every organisation feels obliged to spit out these days, always ending with some inane three word strapline. But I won’t. “Damned good theatre.” That’s all that’s needed. Highly recommended.
