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Target Audience review – zingy satire puts media types in an apocalyptic pickle
Dan Bishop’s Target Audience begins as a sharp comedy about an empty, data-driven television industry, then expands into a more politically serious satire about power and moral compromise. The reviewer finds its shift from media-industry caricature to apocalyptic unease effective, making the play both funny and politically astute.
Set around a production company led by the manipulative Angie and his associate Bruiser, the play follows politically minded writer Tobias and anxious Gen Z intern Isabelle after a government stay-indoors alert. The cast is praised for refreshing familiar material, although the reviewer suggests removing scene changes could improve the pace; it runs at Pleasance Courtyard in Edinburgh until 30 August.
In short
- Media satire develops into an incisive political comedy.
- Cast makes familiar industry jokes feel fresh.
- Reviewer says faster scene changes would help.
Explained simply
Television companies use audience research and viewing data to decide which programmes to make and how to attract viewers. Satire about the industry often pokes fun at the tension between creative work and commercial goals.
Dan Bishop’s play centres on a production company run by Angie and Bruiser, with writer Tobias and intern Isabelle caught up in its decisions. A government instruction to stay indoors brings the outside crisis into the workplace, raising questions about who has power and how people respond when their principles are tested.
The story links media-industry pressures with wider political concerns. Its apocalyptic setting gives the characters’ choices higher stakes.
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