Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Truthmachine
counterpilot in association with Cluster Arts of Australia
Genre: Immersive
Venue: C Alto
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
12 participants buy tickets to sit around a table and listen to something in earphones as they answer yes or no questions. One is eventually chosen to become the subject that shall be questioned by all at the end of the table whilst hooked up to a lie detector. Guided by two performers, the interrogation lasts until we get to the conclusion of a few dodgy questions with an unsurprisingly surprising result.
Review
Counterpilots are renowned Aussie techno troublemakers. Using real biometric sensors and live voting machines in this social experiment they are to demonstrating how in the fake news media reality that some people inhabit, just exactly how false that narrative is, is simply… well… interesting.
As an experience, we 11 – they either didn’t sell a ticket or they opted out – sat around the table, answered questions, then somebody was nominated, and we joined in their interrogation. By the end it led to the participant giving a very interesting response.
To be fair, it always felt as though it was heading towards an inevitable conclusion that had been predetermined, however, it was the journey itself which was well worth it – I apologise for the reality TV style use of the word journey, but it felt suitably ironic.
The concept is well imagined. Spending half an hour in the company of complete strangers, but also with a machine that is likely to tell whether or not you’re lying is fascinating. It is hosted by two interrogators at one end who are clearly well experienced in making this work.
The voiceover in our heads is a counterpoint to the live experience as it is pre-recorded. In front of us is the voting machine and a booklet that we are taken through page by page. There is a healthy degree of sarcasm in the tone of the voiceover which is then replicated by one of the two interrogators in the room. Humour is interjected to puncture the perceived seriousness of the darkened room. The darkened room that enhances concentration which also allows a feeling that degrees of humanity are being slowly taken away from us.
The questions as you would expect are a number of fairly close to the bone ones alongside innocuous ones which leads to you being engaged. It’s adult humour but not over the top. Pitched as I were, perfectly for the audience, but edgy enough to make you nervous.
There is a triviality, making it much lighter, less Jeremy Kyle and Jerry Springer and more collective. You are rooting on the one hand for the interviewee to get away with it and on the other hand to know more about the intimate secrets to see if they would say things that you possibly couldn’t.
By the end of the half hour you walk away less with a thesis on humanity but more with an understanding of theatricality. What happens between strangers connecting with people through technology is a counterpoint to the way in which AI, Chat GBT, Claude and the rest are ruining us. So therefore, whatever the message is, it’s one well worth experiencing.
