Dan Bishop (Brainsluts) returns with a dark comedy set in the near future, exploring the increasingly complex relationship between media, government and technology. When a hot shot new writer is pressured to write a ‘pro-weapons sitcom’, he is forced to choose between his morals and his mortgage. Target Audience is a sharp comic exploration of big – often contradictory – ideas about safety, power and influence, as well as our instinct to protect ourselves and those closest to us.
• What first sparked the idea of framing government policy and media production within a “pro-weapons sitcom” commission?
I first thought of the idea when I started hearing rumours of an ‘anti-woke’ division being set up at Amazon studios as a ploy to cozy up to the Trump administration. But this type of thing has been going on long before Trump. Since the 80s the US Government has been rewriting Hollywood scripts; in exchange for lending studios military equipment for their films, the Department of War regularly gives script notes encouraging directors to portray the military in a more positive light. In the UK as well, I think there are lots of examples of media organisations minimising voices critical of global conflicts. Looking into all this stuff gave me a good basis for how to link the two worlds.
The events of the play are a hyperbolised version of something that is already happening, but I don’t think the events are that far off our reality. Now that the Ellison family have control of CBS News, there’s definitely evidence to suggest that they’re amplifying the White House’s agenda, one aspect of which is to promote the interests of the military industrial complex. The next logical step is for media owners to start influencing not only news coverage, but also scripted TV.
• How did you balance satire with the increasingly high-stakes thriller elements as the world of the play escalates?
Well, if I think about some of my favourite satires, whether that be The Great Dictator or Four Lions, I think jokes and high-stakes often complement each other really well. Without the moments of high-stakes, the satire might end up becoming a bit toothless. But without any jokes, an earnest play about my genuine fear of increasing geopolitical tensions and AI warfare, would almost certainly be insufferable.
• In what ways does Tobias’s moral dilemma reflect wider pressures faced by creatives working within commercially or politically driven systems?
Yes, well, I suppose it’s a dilemma that artists have always encountered but I think what’s specific about this moment right now is that big tech has infiltrated so much of the media landscape, and they are involved in so many unethical practices. Like, if you want to write a show for Amazon, then you’ve got to accept that their platform hosts AI software used in drone warfare. But to some extent this is just what it means to exist at this moment in time, these huge companies are so ubiquitous, it’s genuinely really difficult to not be complicit.
• How did real-world developments in tech and defence industries inform the tone and urgency of the piece?
Yeah, I think some of the ridiculousness of the characters in the tech and defence industries really helped shape the tone for sure. If you Google Palmer Luckey, the head of Anduril – a tech company making self-automated long-range drones – he’s got this uneven goatee and seems to exclusively wear oversized Hawaiian shirts. He looks like a character from The Simpsons.
• At what point does the comedy begin to give way to something more unsettling, and how did you structure that shift?
Without giving too much away, the hypothetical threat the characters allude to at the beginning of the play suddenly becomes very real. It’s a tale of two halves for sure, but hopefully there’s still enough horror in the first half and humour in the second to make it all cohere.
• What do you hope audiences take away about the relationship between entertainment, influence and power in a rapidly shifting media landscape?
Yes, well I think what I’m trying to get at is that companies that specialise in ‘optimising’ processes often do so at the expense of nuance and, in my opinion, humanity. This seems to be happening in both the current cultural landscape and the defence sector, and is often being pushed forward by the same giant companies (including Microsoft, Amazon and Google). But also, ultimately, I hope my play ends all wars forever.
Pleasance Courtyard (Above) from Wednesday 5th – Sunday 30th August (not 17th) at 16:50.