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Episode 10 - The Full Venue 13 2026 Programme + Here in the Long Now by Isla Cowan
37 Plays1 month ago
This is the big one. Episode 10 of Podcast 13, and Ian and Vanesa use the milestone to reveal the full 2026 Venue 13 programme: eleven shows across theatre, comedy, musical theatre, dance fitness, immersive digital performance, and workshops. Five world premieres. Ten of the eleven companies are making their Edinburgh Fringe debut. Seven productions from Canada, two from the USA and two from the UK.
The episode opens with a major piece of new research from Festivals Edinburgh: AI and the Festivals, a May 2026 collection of think pieces from University of Edinburgh academics and international voices including Brand USA's Chief AI Officer Janette Roush. The paper has direct relevance to Venue 13's closing show of 2026, A.I. Campfire [Return], which is built on the same Alan Turing Institute "Doing A.I. Differently" framework cited in the publication.
Ian and Vanesa then take listeners through every show on the programme, grouped by theme and creative connection: the reimagined classics, the politics of body and voice, solo acts of reinvention, comedy with an edge, absurdist Canadian theatre, and the closing immersive piece on Scottish folklore and ethical generative AI.
The programme is now live and tickets are available on www.venue13.com
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Transcript
Celebrating Milestones and Major Announcements
00:00:13
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to podcast 13. I'm Ian. And I'm Vanessa. And we have arrived. This is episode 10. 10 episodes. Honestly, when we started doing this, we said we'd see how the first three went.
Unveiling Venue 13's August 2026 Program
00:00:25
Speaker
And here we are 10 episodes deep with a properly enormous announcement to mark the occasion. Today is the day that we reveal the full Venue 13 program for August of 2026. We've got 11 shows. This includes five world premieres.
00:00:41
Speaker
got a number of companies making their fringe debut and doing it with us at Venue 13. Yes, and we have a variety ah of international candidates here. We've got seven productions from Canada, two from the USA, and we have two from the UK.
00:00:56
Speaker
So we have from immersive karaoke bar Shakespeare to gothic folk musical Ovid. We have a spit-cooked double-queer sketch comedy and then 170 BPM drum bass aerobic phrase, and they as well as a 40-year-old man in a tutu and an aging nun.
00:01:15
Speaker
Can you believe, Ian? And then we will close every night with Venue 13's production of ai of our like own show, the AI Database Sharing Climate-Focused Scottish Folklore.
AI in Festivals: A Thoughtful Exploration
00:01:26
Speaker
We're to take you through each of the shows in this episode. We've grouped them so that some of those connections come through. So we've got 11 shows, one episode.
00:01:40
Speaker
But first, we want to talk about a really important piece of new research that has landed at exactly the right moment for our program. Let's dive in. Now, before we get to the shows, we wanted to flag a publication that arrived this May from Festivals Edinburgh.
00:01:54
Speaker
It's called AI and the Festivals, and it is a collection of think pieces from University of Edinburgh Academics with a closing contribution from Jeanette Roush, which is the Chief AI Officer Brand USA.
00:02:06
Speaker
The Edinburgh Futures Institute helped pull it all together ah with funding support from EventScotland. Why, Ian, tell us, why are we leading the program analysis with this paper specifically? What makes it quite important?
00:02:18
Speaker
Well, it's perhaps the most substantive look at AI in the Edinburgh Festival that come from inside the festival ecosystem itself. We've got 11 different essays, each coming from a different academic specialization. There's no editorial line imposed. It's all the opinions and the thinking of the people who are contributing to it.
00:02:38
Speaker
But trying to look at what's happening across the festival and how that's intersecting with AI. So one of those contributors includes Professor Drew Hemmant, who wrote an article, Festivals in AI, Shaping AI Futures Through Cultural Practice, and that opens up the the collection.
00:02:59
Speaker
We've always got Dr. Vajjek Bell on what the festivals need to know, Dr. Katarina Maruzzi on AI Trust and Festival Communications, Dr. Vicki Jones on making performances with AI. Dr. Hedmosa Fire on going beyond Human in the Loop.
00:03:15
Speaker
Joseph Ray Shahawaking's The Lovely Case that the Boring Side of
AI Campfire's Evolution with Folklore
00:03:19
Speaker
AI Might Be the Most Useful Side of AI for Edinburgh Festivals. notably hement i want to say drew but hement's piece notes a huge moment in april of 2026 arts council in england formally recognized digital arts as its 10th supported art form the first new art form in decades so from april 2027 will have its own dedicated portfolio art show i can fire gets a mention in one of the articles by emma dorfman who we've done a little bit of work uh or trying to do some of our networking work with as well and there's a mention of venue 13 as a venue who is open to looking at the artwork obviously we have our own show there too so we've got a lot of things going out at the venue obviously not just ai as you'll see in this episode many different approaches there but it's something that we're actively part of that conversation whether you've heard us if you've been listening to the podcast you've heard us talk about the ai conversations that we've been in as artists producing work with it and it's nice to see these conversations happening and you know validates a lot of what we've been doing because the fact that we have a place where some artists can approach us with work like that and we have our own work and both got a mention sort of buried within everything else so much longer report something that you should take a look at
00:04:38
Speaker
So that's really nice for us to be validated. um You know, Vanessa, are there any other aspects of it that stood out to you on on reading it? Yeah, absolutely. I know we are very proud to have been mentioned on on this. This is like you were you're mentioning, it's pure research.
00:04:53
Speaker
So we didn't really have a say on this. It just means that our work has, you know, become noticed by all
Innovative Adaptations of Classic Texts
00:05:00
Speaker
of these people. And, and you know, they they found the venue as as one of the very few venues that are having the conversation about AI and how to address AI for the future in perhaps a more ethical way or, you know, just to take in all the considerations.
00:05:15
Speaker
I don't think there are many venues, um you know, with that kind of identity as well as other identities that we have, which is the inclusivity, accessibility, sustainability, and being artists first.
00:05:26
Speaker
We also have a like a link to our show. So ah in Hemet's essay, which is is rooted in the Alan Turing Institute's doing AI differently work, and There's the same framework. It's exactly what our new show, closing show program, AI Campfire Return, will be built around. it's as a Scottish festival paper, it's a citing a Scottish research initiative, mapping onto a Scottish folk performance at our venue and taking one of the venue's identities as being one of the few venues of the FringeJoy's exploring AI possibilities.
00:05:59
Speaker
It is is, it's a huge deal for us. And we're very, very proud to have been mentioned. Yeah, it's it's ah definitely worth a read. It's free. You know, the Creative Commons license out there being put out there through Festivals Edinburgh and and downloaded from the Festivals Edinburgh site.
00:06:14
Speaker
And we'll put a link to it in the show notes. I think that if you are in either of these conversations or any of these conversations, there are few here, performance, AI, Edinburgh festivals, it's something that I wouldn't be surprised if it comes across your networks.
00:06:28
Speaker
So don't sleep on it.
Toronto's Bold Storytelling Productions
00:06:35
Speaker
Brilliant. And now to the program itself. We are going to start with two productions that take classical texts and turn them upside down. We're going to call them the reimagined classics. This is, ah you know, they turn them, they reimagine them in a completely different way.
00:06:50
Speaker
One is a karaoke bar and the other one is based on, you know, set in the Great Depression. Yeah, so we've got the Edinburgh Fringe debut for Seattle Company, Daka Theater. They're going to be doing an immersive karaoke bar, like honky tonk, reimagining of As You Like It, where the Forest of Arden is now at this neon-lit cowboy bar, Western Bar.
00:07:13
Speaker
There's going to be a real bar. going to have drinks. We're working on the lining up exactly what those are. But you're also going to have lined up lay ah lying dancing shepherds and lovesick cowboys as part of it as well. So... Introducing that part of it for as well.
00:07:27
Speaker
it is It is Shakespeare dice, as you like it. The dice part is important here. What that means is that every person in this show has rehearsed every role. And at the top of every performance, the audience rolls dice to randomly decide who's going to play everybody. So... You never know when you come in, who's going to be Rosalind, who's going to be Orlando, Jacques, the rest ah of the people in there. So no two pro performances are ever going to be alike, right? There's also pay-what-you-can ethos as as well. So there's on Tuesdays and Wednesdays of their run, they're running... from the top of the Fringe on August the 7th until the 23rd. So doing a full two-week run at the front
Solo Shows of Transformation and Humor
00:08:13
Speaker
two-thirds of the festival. On the Tuesday and Wednesday, they'll be doing Pay What You Can, which you can reserve in advance to through the through the Fringe box office. And we invite audience to come in, grab a drink, and stay for a bit of a two-step.
00:08:27
Speaker
their Their previous show, Romeo and Juliet, Running with Ice, that ran for six times in Seattle and and really built the following. So we're really excited. This is the first time that that format has left the U.S., that they're bringing it abroad. And we're really excited decided to ah work on it with us at Venue 13.
00:08:47
Speaker
But is it this is a unique way. I mean, lots of people play with with Shakespeare. Sometimes it feels like the most revolutionary thing that someone can do with a Shakespeare production would be to just set it in it in its original time. So we see a lot of adaptations, but it does really well at the Fringe. What do you think what do you think Edinburgh audiences during the Fringe are going to fall in love with with this production?
00:09:12
Speaker
What I like about this production is, and you know, the listen the listeners will know, they will already be listening and be like, I would be up for seeing a Shakespeare play. And some people will say, i would not be up for seeing a Shakespeare play.
00:09:24
Speaker
And it's just like that. you You know, to some people, theater means the classics. And to some people that are like, no, I want to go and see something new. want to see some comedy. want to see some acrobatics. And they what I love about this is that it's actually making this the classics more accessible, more engaging, more entertaining.
00:09:41
Speaker
And, you know, it's still the classics. And I really appreciate that. This is, you know, casting a more inclusive and and broad, basically, aspect of this and welcoming new audiences into a genre that maybe they would just skip over.
00:09:56
Speaker
The Fringe itself is a spiritual home
Cultural Mashups at Edinburgh Fringe
00:09:58
Speaker
of theater that is like original, unique, and it's challenging. And it challenges the norm. And I do believe that this, specifically, this company is challenging the norm. And it's making it fun, you know. And we can see here that audience participation is is actually going to change the show every single night.
00:10:14
Speaker
And that I think the important thing is that the compelling case for why the Shakespeare doesn't need a heritage-grade interpretation, it will land. And, you know, the stories are so timeless that they will carry through. And they'll carry through in new settings, such as the ones that Shakespeare dies.
00:10:30
Speaker
Now, for show two, we have Lucinia by Ars Longa, Toronto, Canada, written by Cam Wright. Now, this is an Edinburgh French debut as a world premiere by New 13, and it's a Gothic folk musical adaptation of Ovid Smith of Philomena and Procne, but it's relocated to the American South during the Great Depression. So again, we are going with the traditional, we're going with something classic, but we're putting it somewhere else in a different location.
00:10:59
Speaker
Two sisters are attempting to escape the fundamentalist cult of a charismatic creature called Bo. The title, Lucinia, refers to a genus of nightingale, the Lucinia, which is the bird that Phenomena becomes in o itd and Ovid after her voice is stolen. So she you know she becomes a bird.
00:11:17
Speaker
She becomes a Lucinia. The music braids upbeat folk with gothic Americana, which is bright, rhythmic, and a little bit uneasy. So it's got that kind of goth undertone to it.
00:11:29
Speaker
Ian, putting Shakespeare next to Ovid is the most theater school dinner party sentence I've ever had to say. But stay with me there. What do you think links these two pieces beyond the obvious that you know they both used to be in a syllabus?
Canadian Absurdist Plays with Depth
00:11:42
Speaker
it's It's true. i say But I think that anybody coming at these is going to come at them and and take something very different away than they might have done if they they read it and in high school or saw production. 100%. Yeah. Both of these companies are, you know, they're they're taking something that is classic, like the quote unquote canon, and they're taking those raw materials. And they are, in both cases, creating something very unique and different. with it. Like it is its own show. This is like very much that there's the foundation and in that those are like timeless storytelling.
00:12:15
Speaker
You know, we see a lot of recurring stories throughout history, but they're doing in really interesting ways, which I think talk a lot about, you know, the context in which they're being presented, like that making them contemporary like this, you know, with ah the flexibility of the Shakespeare days format,
00:12:33
Speaker
And the idea that like anybody could play anybody in here and those sort of like dynamics of, you know, the comedies are ultimately sort of, you know, and a lot of theaters about the relationships with each other. so it gives you a chance, like look at those in very different ways, you different people. that you know you don't know who, but of sort of anybody from that company. And then you're going to put a different read on that. And I think that's really interesting around the way that we talk about just like identity today, right? And the way that we relate to one another within there with a really, you know, and making that really fun as well.
00:13:05
Speaker
So, and then this this idea of
AI Campfire's Cinematic Global Tour
00:13:09
Speaker
updating Ovid, right? Is similarly about like, I mean, it's it's more serious as a topic,
00:13:17
Speaker
ah And, you know, it's not randomized from Dice as well. But this idea of, ah the you know, even though it's we're looking at at the Great Depression, and not that I'm i'm going to like overtly liken it to such, but I think that, you know, looking back this year this last year at Sinners, there's something about this era like inviteation and this relationship ah of people and power dynamics that is is you know we're we're seeing right now.
00:13:47
Speaker
Here. And I think that that both of these companies, you know, they're being really playful and they're doing something interesting with it, but it's not just for the purpose of, you know, they didn't just like pull this out of a hat.
00:14:03
Speaker
the The dice might be random for who's playing who, but they are picking shows and picking ways of expressing these shows and conceptualizing them in ways that are getting us to think about what's what's happening around us now. And, you know, that's, i think, what makes the stories Timeless, why we still do study them and we might read them in either theater school or high school or wherever is because there's something to take from it.
00:14:27
Speaker
And i'm I'm really excited for how they're updating these, setting them in these places now so that we can see how these stories resonate with audiences today.
00:14:38
Speaker
Thank you. That's a really good reflection there.
Concluding Thoughts and Future Teasers
00:14:41
Speaker
And yes, I'm also very excited to see that. It's true. You're saying something about the stories that transcend time and transcend place. So yes, this is going to be a very exciting couple of shows to book and yeah, keep in your calendar.
00:14:56
Speaker
Thank
00:15:04
Speaker
And for the second group, I've decided on two plays and I've put them under sort of like body, voice and a bit of politics, right? So it takes us further into that question of the voice. And these two productions are come at the politics of the body from completely different angles.
00:15:22
Speaker
Yeah, the first of these is, well, they're both coming from Toronto. and We have a good relationship with people in Toronto, so we're excited to bring in more people from there. But the first is Arta's Beer, which is Turkish for 31 by Ener Teyato Company, in in coming from Toronto. But ah writer and director, Melissa Aldeg, is of Turkish descent.
00:15:44
Speaker
And this is another, it's a fringe debut, yes, and it's its proper professional world premiere as well at Venue 13. And it tells the story of a young Turkish-Canadian woman, Denise, reconnecting with her own body after experiencing sexual trauma.
00:15:59
Speaker
And this is set against the backdrop of Turkey with a drawing in 2021 from the Istanbul Convention, which is on preventing violence against women, right? Which is is really interesting because they're actually, it's it's called the Istanbul Convention because it was agreed to India.
00:16:19
Speaker
istanbul And they were actually the first country to sign the treaty and then also then the first to leave it as well. So you've got characters on stage named for parts of the body that refuse to be kept silent, right? Being the brain, Jena, vulva, clit.
00:16:33
Speaker
The title is a Turkish slang. It's 31 for masturbation, which also means and is expressed as the number 31. And, you know, it's definitely funny. It's politically fierce.
00:16:45
Speaker
New play. It's making some, it's already been making some relationships with like the Scottish Turkish community as well and connecting with other shows on that. So it really brings this like unique Turkish Canadian diasporic voice to the fringe, which is something that I think that we rarely hear on the UK stages and will resonate with people as already is because it's connecting to local, the local Turkish community as well. And and that's how I found out there's actually going some other Turkish and Turkish politics ah informed plays at at the fringe because they've already started talking about it.
00:17:19
Speaker
You know, Vanessa, in bringing this show in, like, you know, what what do you think matters about having this this show at the fringe specific thing?
00:17:30
Speaker
I think this is a very ah timely show to have in this day and age, you know, for for women, for women presenting people. I do believe that ah we are living in very difficult times, actually, around the world politically, where, you know, all of the rights that we fought so hard for many years, our ancestors and, you know, past generations fought together, they're being taken away.
00:17:55
Speaker
And they're being taken away in different parts of the world. And, you know, this is going to cause a regression, a regression and oppression. And I do believe that more shows like this um are very, they're very crucial because the theater is a voice and the voice, you know, brings about action.
00:18:13
Speaker
And I think it's important to Turkish women, to other women, to women from other, of you know, basically demographics to know that this is something that's happened. You know, to sign out of a treaty that prevents violence against women, that is outrageous. And it must have brought so much pain and suffering since it's happened. And what else is happening around the world? What other you know rights are being taken away you know from women, from children, from female presenting people? And it's really important that we stick together, especially at once, especially at this time, and that we celebrate pieces of work like this and others are going to come.
00:18:52
Speaker
That reminds us that we're not alone. Yeah, I think i think it's it's interesting with various ah various parts of Edinburgh in the center sort of turning a little bit into wizard boy gift shop areas, that knowing the politics associated with that, that it's important to understand.
00:19:11
Speaker
have the have these conversations so that we continue to to sit with the complexity of a city that is enjoying tourism for both fringe and ah you know exciting theater like this, as well as other pieces of writing that might have had their origins within Edinburgh, without naming names.
00:19:34
Speaker
ah Absolutely. And I think it's ah it's very important. As I said, the Istanbul conversation is is alive. It's an urgent European story. It rarely gets told in in you know Edinburgh stages. and This is diaspora theatre that holds the two political realities at once. You have the Turkish, the Canadian, but as I say said, it's also a global issue on you know on different and so like different countries as well.
00:19:59
Speaker
And the choice to make a play, you know, put put the Turkish, the Canadian thing aside. As well, the choice to make a play about reconnecting with your body after it has been violated in one way or another, it's very important because it's actually, again, giving validation, visibility to so many women whose stories are you know potentially similar to the ones of Denise's.
00:20:25
Speaker
And you know how do you reconnect to your own body, which is the house that you have to live in and how do you make it better? I think this is an incredibly important play, and I'm really looking forward to it. Yeah. So what's the what what's what's it well paired with, for the purposes of our episode at least?
00:20:43
Speaker
For the purposes of this episode, we are pairing it with Defying Queerness. This is created by the Defying Queerness connect Collective Toronto Canada. This is also a French debut from Toronto-based emerging collective formed around this work specifically.
00:20:59
Speaker
This is a devised verbatim theater piece. And I love this because it's built from the transcript of recorded interviews with two queer couples. And it is a warm and self-asserting piece, which talks about, you know, the first exposures to queerness, first loves, first arguments, small domestic pleasures, and the mechanics of being out in a relationship without necessarily the pressure to explain yourself.
00:21:24
Speaker
So this is, you know, a political move based in joy. So verbatim theater traditionally leans into investigative and difficult, but this one tilts towards queer joy.
00:21:36
Speaker
And in this day and age, in 2026, that itself is a political stance. You know, let's reflect on the joy to be who we can be. And it is created and performed by Charlie Van Stone and Gray Baker.
00:21:50
Speaker
Ian, what is it about pairing Autos Beer and Define Queerness in our program that you know that makes you like hopeful, I guess, or excited for our program this year? Yeah, well, I think that both are interesting because sort of in opposing ways, they they each um they refuse sort of the dominant tone that the form expects.
00:22:08
Speaker
Like Autos Beer refuses to be solemn. Like it's, it's engaging things. but i I feel like I say playful a lot, but in the way that they're putting it together, it's, you know, there's a bit of tongue in cheek. There's, there's definitely humor in there and, you know, ah the links that it's making and the context of something, you know,
00:22:31
Speaker
really like politically hot i think is interesting so it refuses to be solemn about that right and then on the other hand just as you're saying like the fine queerness refuses to be tragic right that it's looking at the those apologize but looking at really really leaning into the queer joy so there's there's There's a lot of like inclusion and complexity about both of these, about understanding where somebody is and sort of like these, especially in sort of like hybrid areas of of trying to figure out where someone live like lives in the world, in the politics of the world.
00:23:11
Speaker
with in response to like you know things just inborn in themselves. right So both building on on real literal history, testimony, and real research, and real lived experience.
00:23:24
Speaker
And I think one one thing actually... Just because I want to make sure that it gets said at some point, one of the things that I think is exciting about Defying Queerness in particular is that that's going to be an entirely relaxed run.
00:23:38
Speaker
Like all of the shows that we have are going to have relaxed performances for it. But Charlie and Gray have committed to having every one of their performances as a relaxed performance.
00:23:48
Speaker
So really upping on the inclusion there. Can you tell us a bit more about relaxed performances, Ian? What does that mean? Yeah. ah So a relaxed performance can then feature a number of things. It's really about making a performance much more welcoming to people with perhaps different forms of neurodivergency. And so usually like hallmark features that you'll see in a relaxed performance is that, uh,
00:24:15
Speaker
You know, deal you'll have introductions beforehand so that people know what's what's happening. Sometimes you'll go about changing some of the tech around to sort like even things out. So there's less like jarring, startling things. So that's not really like, know, it it really involves you going through the entire performance to sort of see like, how can we, how can we make this so that it's easy for somebody who might have a different piece of processing information to be able to enjoy it. Yeah.
00:24:44
Speaker
house lights tend to stay up at least somewhat for it. People will be able to come and go. It'll be a bit of a, we'll set we'll have a sort of like chill out area just in case things get intense. I mean, it's meant to be around queer joy, but you know, it's, we're trying to make it so that it's sensory inclusive as well.
00:25:01
Speaker
And well, there's many people who might otherwise fight be worried that a theatrical experience could be like upsetting beyond the content, just beyond like, you know. but right It sounds yeah like it's like ah like a warm, fuzzy invitation. Come and join us for, you know, like enjoy warm, you know, self-asserting, you know, nostalgic, you know, x like just full of ah chilled out vibes, you know. like I think I'm really excited about the the whole tone of this show.
00:25:31
Speaker
Yeah, it's really a perfect one, I think, for taking that approach to it, too, because it really is about becoming comfortable in that and identity. And so they want people to be comfortable and are building the show around that. It's not just something that they're adding on to it, but it's the way that the show is actually built.
00:25:54
Speaker
On the subject of people coming into their own, we've got another group of of solo work. I have couple of solo pieces that are coming in.
00:26:04
Speaker
and you tell us about those? Yes, so on to group three, um I've put together the two solo acts that we have. So they are solo shows about people meeting themselves over a turning point in their lives.
00:26:17
Speaker
So we have what seems like it shouldn't go well together, but it really does. We have a man in a tutu and a nun in a crisis. It's different shows. Two different do the shows. Although they do sound like it would make a very good show. I'm looking forward to that let's We'll talk to them for 2027 do a crossover show.
00:26:35
Speaker
Yeah. which Which is entirely possible because actually both of these shows are not necessarily both Edinburgh Fringe Veterans, but definitely they are they're veteran performers in different fringe environments.
00:26:48
Speaker
Now the first one, The 40-Year-Old Ballerino, is by Chris Davis. written starring and he's a fringe veteran he's brought a lot of work over before this is his first work back since uh the festival didn't happen in person for a couple of years there during you covet 19 uh he's normally based in ah philadelphia so this is this is uh bringing the the 40 year old ballerino he's done other ballet shows he did a one-man nutcracker before but this is going to be premiering at venue 13 he was a regular since 2014 until 2019 right so coming for a number of years there with shows that if you've been going to the french for a while you may have seen a drunk lion one man apocalypse now
00:27:34
Speaker
violence of the lands and so this is his first this is his return and it's going to be his seventh year it's been thinking that the math maths in the way that i think it is it's been seven festivals or seven years since he's been back but it's it makes it his seventh year it's 50 minute solo comedy and created it it's about when he was 40 40 plus that jesus is sort of like swapping the usual is more than 14 He's now more than 40. He's now more than 40. It's about a time of his life, right? So there's a little bit of personal of the work, too. But he's swapping these usual suspects, like, you know, enticing things, drugs, alcohol, modern family reruns, toxic tropes from John Cusack movies from the 90s, right? And replacing those with ballet class.
00:28:23
Speaker
So he's using a bar, ballet bar, for support. and mixing dance and storytelling in a way that he's very really talented at doing it. ah You know, part of his inspiration to come back was he's been touring this one-man nutcracker now for a while.
00:28:40
Speaker
and And it's it's really like getting to the heart of that change is always possible, right? So as say asking those who are coming in, the audience, to look past that at Tutu into themselves and their demons.
00:28:54
Speaker
ah and come see what's going to be great like his previous work four or five stars four stars in the list you know described as the kind of innovative spirit that the fringe was originally created to showcase so you know i think they once said that we were the fringes god intended or that was three weeks and so their comment on venue 13 so you know an obvious match a clear news match be between that show and our venue another good match because of our affiliation with Canogate Kirk is ah is this nun. Not that there's nuns in the Church of Scotland, but, you know.
00:29:27
Speaker
That's true. We can move on to the next show, which is also a solo show, a Sister Sophia Kicks the Habit. This is created by The Universe Over 60. Absolutely love the name of that organization from Toronto, Canada.
00:29:42
Speaker
Basically, Toronto-based company led by writer-performer Lisa Randall, The Universe Over 60 is dedicated to stories about women over the age of 60. The company name, it's its Manifesto.
00:29:54
Speaker
It also is a 60-minute show and a one-none show. Across a single restless night, Sister Sofia confronts God, grapples with her sisterhood and finds herself arriving somewhere unexpected by the morning.
00:30:07
Speaker
It's in the rigorous tradition of the the Catholic you know solo shows, the great Catholic solo shows, that I know you probably know many of them, it's titled to towards The Worst and Distinct Experience of Being a Woman in Her Sixties with a vocation and a a few uncomfortable or existential questions.
00:30:25
Speaker
Existing press quotes by Hamilton City Magazine called it witty, curious, and easy to root for. A stellar performance from the very talented Lisa Randall. As well from the Hammer hammer Monthly, we've got Randall has a hell of a voice.
00:30:39
Speaker
Now, Ian, what does it... So what do we want the audience to take away from these solo performances? ah Well, I think it it says that Vennie 13 is a place for people of all ages, midlife and and beyond. So we've got upcoming companies and we've got these shows. I think I didn't realize this, but, you know, they got grouped together because of the the solo like turning points in that. But they they are talking about specific points during people's lives. Right. Yeah.
00:31:10
Speaker
yeah And I have something quite nice to say about this. And I think it's worth saying it in the podcast because why not? So David Attenborough has turned 100 years old. Congratulations. Congratulations to him, you know, and many more, shall we say. But the nicest thing about this is that essentially, you know, he used to really love Legos.
00:31:30
Speaker
And Lego slogan always said it was from year one to 99. And they've changed it for him. They've changed it from year one to 100 so that he can continue playing Lego. I feel like there's a there's a meme out there that's, ah there was somebody, of the i can't remember who it is. I'll find it and I'll try and put it on the page too or put it as Mike. It's a meme that was like, oh, it means that, you know, so-and-so can't play with Lego anymore. And that's, that's true I still play with Lego.
00:31:56
Speaker
It's all over the house, but it's there. in in In both of these shows, you know, we've got comedy and confession somewhat literally in one of them, like sitting beautiful together with a with an honest writer talking about like the different phases of life and and how that change is coming. So whether or not...
00:32:13
Speaker
You know, they both have their accessories, their clothing. I don't i don't know if if like a tutu and a habit. are Are they an accessory? Are they an item of clothing? Like an additional ah somewhere in between those. But ah those are, you know, not just not just costumes of the shows. They're costumes for transformation and commitment to change, which I think it is really saying something for for these veteran performers. Right. I think we're only going to get quality work.
00:32:39
Speaker
that we're gonna see with them uh sister sofia actually is also doing i think they're closing on august 21st and that's probably because it's got a tour on so catch that one while you can chris will be there every every day possible for their um ven you yeah for the full run venue is closed on on mondays so he'll be performing six days a week with us that's a lot of ballet to fit in six days a week that's amazing Yeah, we'll see what happens. I don't know if he does point. if he does point I'm excited about that, actually. now Maybe it'll inspire me to take up something. I was thinking like rollerblades.
00:33:17
Speaker
That'd be quite cool. i think I think that's cool. If the venue were bigger, given the floor, I'd say... If the venue were bigger, yeah. Maybe we could do like a roller rink. We could do roller disco next year. That'd be something.
00:33:28
Speaker
We can. We can. i think i think we need a bigger space for it. or Or a very limited audience. It's ah it's a one-on-one immersive roller disco show. We can think about this. We can think about this. Yeah, keep keep keep an eye on this and ear on space.
00:33:43
Speaker
Absolutely. Watch your space.
00:33:51
Speaker
So now for group four, I've decided to put these two shows because they're completely different, but they also count as comedy with an edge. So comedy, but not just any comedy.
00:34:04
Speaker
right So we have a queer sketch duo from Montreal. And we also have an 170 BPM German base aerobics rave from Birmingham. You would say that has nothing to do with each other, but you know what it has to do with each other is the laughs.
00:34:19
Speaker
If that's not fringe energy, I don't know what it is. Yeah, so the the first, She, They, which is from Bronwyn, Fergus, and Sophie Jean. They're coming from Montreal, Canada. They spend a lot of time in Toronto, too. This is their Edinburgh Fringe debut, but that hardly means this is the first time that they've been seen. It's the world premiere of the Edinburgh show itself, but they they perform a lot. they They do sketch and improv and occasional stand-up when it's a full moon. So, you know, you're not getting stand-up comedians here. This is more towards the the sketch end of shows. It is Chile is a one-woman show.
00:34:54
Speaker
It's their own three-word pitch that it's, you know, it's a chaotic, queer, and chronically offline tribute to to navigating those politics you can see. they've ah They've spent a lot of time in Montreal, which for comedy fans, you're probably familiar that that is a hub for that. So they've had sold out shows that just for laughs and in Montreal, sort of like some of the the top end of the worldwide comedy community. They're also ah Best of the Fest and Best Mood Troupe at the Montreal Sketch Fest. They've won Montreal Theatre Sports and Toronto Sketch Fest as well. This is one of the most decorated and upcoming sketch acts in the Canadian indie comedy circuit right now.
00:35:40
Speaker
And they're going to make their Edinburgh debut at Venue 13. And you might see them in some other places around town, too. They're trying to to see. but That's amazing. Yeah. yeah That's fantastic. So tell me about it. What is it about a Bronwyn and Sophie that made us, you know, really say, this is this is a show for us.
00:35:57
Speaker
Let's get them on the program. Yeah, I think, like, they have a very distinct voice. It, like, feels properly their own. They're not really aping anyone. Like, you can tell where the cleverness is just from the title, right? Calling it she, they, one woman. And with that tagline of a one-woman show, it's like... I'm sold there already. And and they really lean into that. So it's our it's it's, you know, queer comedy that is both genuine and hilarious.
00:36:24
Speaker
And coming out of, you know, with ah with a pedigree coming out of the Montreal scene, and which is also producing exciting, devised work, and has those storied festivals just for laughs and sketch fests. Like...
00:36:39
Speaker
Canadians are funny. Just look at the cast of Tressenelle. And these two have a very specific view. And so, I mean, that you know yeah another connection in this grouping of shows is not just the the fun, but that so you're getting it's like getting, it's like we're bringing over maple syrup.
00:37:00
Speaker
Bringing over or bringing up drum and bass aerobics from Birmingham, that that seems entirely fitting. Well, you know, I think I cannot contain my excitement anymore. This is one of the ones I am most excited about, especially because I love, I just genuinely love the concept.
00:37:18
Speaker
So basically it's, it is their Edinburgh Fringe debut. They are not a show though. They are not a show. They are a movement, Ian. I do feel like people are going to join this. They're be like, it's going be like, yes, this, I found my thing.
00:37:31
Speaker
And they're just going to like continue following the progression of this company. And they're going to start trying to find the locations. You know, if they're from abroad, maybe they're going be like, you know, when are they coming to my country? Why they coming to my city? So basically, it is a project that was born and it just spread just because of how good it is.
00:37:53
Speaker
It is the only UK company on the program. It's a 45 minute dance fitness party pairing 170 drum and bass with joyful, accessible aerobic choreography. You don't need to learn how to dance. You will learn there.
00:38:07
Speaker
So we have six rotating routines. It's high impact or low impact, depending on what works for you. It's, ah you know, wheelchair users are very welcome. And the only rule is that you move and have fun.
00:38:19
Speaker
Founded by Emma, Emma Smallman is in a mostly church in Birmingham in October 2012. Now is a fixture of UK festival scene, the festival circuit, with regular appearances at Shambhala, Blue Dogs, Jam and buring at Birmingham Festival in 2023.
00:38:36
Speaker
We also have Emma and Anu Hawkins as instructors. There are more instructors around the UK though. You should just, you know, go into the website, find your nearest one because it's amazing. And if not, come on, you know, try it for yourself at the New 13.
00:38:49
Speaker
Emma was a 2023 alumna of the LucasAid Sport Movers list and was featured by END UK's Made to Move campaign and Birmingham City Council's The Girl Can campaign.
00:39:00
Speaker
Now, this is when I am very excited about this. Yeah, it's it's one of the most active pieces in the program. And for folks who are like, is it just a beloved? Like Emma is also like a trauma-informed yoga instructor. Like she's got the credentials for she like she really knows the physiological side of it. And and also DJs as DJ Sister Small.
00:39:23
Speaker
around so like she comes at it like this is her emerging her passions and things that she is like these are these are her things so it is a it is a special thing to see someone like fuse some of things that they are are so passionate about together and it's gonna get you to move this is gonna be it's in the mornings uh towards the weekend too so it's something to help break up If you are planning to do a marathon weekend of shows in the second and third weekend, so not that opening weekend, but the weekends after that, i come by. It's going to be not too early in the morning.
00:39:55
Speaker
It's 10.30 in the morning, but come by and and do that. And that and between the the between Emma and the Drummond-Bass Aerobics Experience, and then you got Shakespeare Dice. You know, we talk a lot about audiences, observers,
00:40:12
Speaker
And we're really pushing for something that generally connects with people and makes them part of the show in inclusive ways, too. Like, I personally am not always the biggest fan of audience participation with it.
00:40:24
Speaker
I think with both of these, it's such an intrinsic part of it and done in a fun and inclusive and not like, you know, no one's being put on the spot. It is just...
00:40:35
Speaker
let's have fun and we're going to move together because we're sharing space together. i think that that really speaks to the ethos of the type of work that we want to see at at the venue. i Honestly, I'll be the first one there with my, you know, with my sneakers on. the keys and wait Get the keys to the space. I cannot wait. i am very excited about it.
00:40:59
Speaker
So we move on to the next grouping, which I put them at this two next shows I'm going to talk about. They share this absurdist sort of like theater. They're both Canadian.
00:41:11
Speaker
So two Canadian companies doing absurdist work. It hides serious questions under the surreal surfaces. And I do really want to emphasize that this is quite surreal. So one features two enormous Ontario billboards as characters and the other features mass creatures at the edge of a small town.
00:41:32
Speaker
So for the first show, we have Wiener Beacon by Sheer Hysterics, Toronto, Canada. It is going to be their Edinburgh Fringe debut. And it's a strange, warm, absurdist comedy drama inspired by two real roadside billboards in southern Ontario.
00:41:46
Speaker
So for the UK listeners, most of us are. If you drive Highway 401 from Toronto d towards Kitchener. the Canadian equivalent of driving from Edinburgh to Glasgow, you will pass two enormous billboards.
00:42:00
Speaker
One is the Schneider's Meat Brand logo depicting a hot dog, or as the Americans call it, a wiener. This brand is a 90-year-old Canadian institution, and this billboard is looming over this farm field.
00:42:12
Speaker
The other billboard is a plain white one a few kilometers later that reads Jesus saves in black capitals with nothing else. Jesus saves. Together, they are a Canadian national in-joke.
00:42:26
Speaker
So it's playwright Alexa Liberté has turned them into characters. So the story follows Catherine as her car spins out in a snowstorm. So she's launched from her own life into the tumultuous, intimate world of Schneider and Jesus Saves, where they're a couple.
00:42:42
Speaker
So she stays at their house. She eats wieners at their table. She listens to their marital problems. And the question underneath the show is, what does it take for a giver to start taking?
00:42:53
Speaker
Like on paper, this sounds bonkers. How do you think this is going work for an Edinburgh audience? But do you know, everyone that I've spoken it about the audience to the to the show about, like everyone that ive I've spoken to, they were like, I really want to see that. And I do believe is that sometimes it takes so a little bit of like a mental pictogram to understand an analogy or a story. And I think that this is going to do really well with with the audiences because there is a real...
00:43:21
Speaker
human story behind this. So it's exactly the kind of premise that The Fringe was made for. so specific, weird, locally rooted, and, you know, it's kind of tender underneath. So what Liberté is doing is what good absurdist writers do, which is using this strange surface to ask a serious question. And in this case, it's about generosity.
00:43:40
Speaker
yeah There's a lot of conversations when I'm talking to whether or not they're coming to the venue, talking to people who are bringing shows to Edinburgh. And they're always talking about whether or not various elements of their script or that are going to play to an Edinburgh audience, to UK audience. Like are brands the same or referring to things like there's cultural differences.
00:44:01
Speaker
You know, there's that that, well, I think it's oftentimes said about the U.S., but I say North, ah then we can say North America too, right? It's like it's, you know, across those continents, there's we've got we've got countries separated by a common language, right?
00:44:15
Speaker
Although with Canada, at least, we share the monarchy, right? we don't This is the the weird thing. I don't know if anybody else is going to care about this, but we we have the same monarchs, but they are separately the monarchs of each of our countries. since I think 1982. Anyway, what I love about and I'm excited about with Wiener Beacon is that it is so specific that like it totally makes sense. It works to be specific and keep it rooted within that like Canadian perspective.
00:44:48
Speaker
as ah As a way of like exporting that and making it interesting to the to the world. So it's not about like how do we play for this to be but how do we play this to be universal.
00:45:00
Speaker
The themes are, but the narrative is is very specific. And i think I think it's going to work. similarly and and also inspired by well not just absurd except just not on the the this is more of an absurdist horror approach and also specifically like rooted within rural northern canada canada right is the gas station at the edge of the universe from wormwood theater also from toronto and that and also making their fringe debut
00:45:31
Speaker
ah This is going be a world premiere. It's written by Trinidad Technique. And so, you know, it it it has a soft relational center, but ultimately it's an absurdist horror show where Sawyer, who's a recent university grad, is returning home to rural northern Canada and reunites with their childhood best friend Casey.
00:45:51
Speaker
And as soon as they get back, there's these mass creatures that begin appearing at the edge of the known world. And the the town sort of slides into something unrecognizable.
00:46:03
Speaker
So it's it's a tender two-hander about friendships and and and then the distance that time puts between us, sort of wearing horror as a skin. I really think that it fits within them.
00:46:14
Speaker
You know, I'm a scaredy cat. I find horror is not usually my genre. for movies and that but i've really been making some effort because uh it's become you know like weapons did really well this last year and going back to like you know through the appeal work of like get out and nope and us and things like that that uh there's some really compelling stories that are coming out of using that those sort of genre to use here and i think that that that's true here as well Yeah, to me, when I read this originally, the first thing that came to mind was a combination of a coming-of-age film and ah really a personal realization of being someone who has emigrated to somewhere else and then being reunited with the people back home.
00:47:04
Speaker
Because you know whilst you're away, you've changed, you've grown, things happen to you. But then, you know, you could have become this completely different person from the person that's left. But throughout all of this this time that you've transformed, the people back home, they haven't seen that transformation. So you could come back and be completely different.
00:47:23
Speaker
You know, someone could be asking, who's this monster that came back? You know, for you know for good and for bad. And you could get mixed reactions. And the reason why this is also a coming of age to me is because Sawyer, you know, has finished uni, has come back. We don't know if he's going to stay there. Is he going to move out?
00:47:40
Speaker
And I believe that the relations that he builds or rebuilds and reconnects when he's back home will be a big deciding factor on what he's going to do with his future. Yeah, i really think that the ah the the structure that Trinity has brought into here and sort of like this idea of the the mask and and things on that sort of like edge and that sort of like getting into that liminal space is really about, you know, highlights those those coming of age anxieties.
00:48:07
Speaker
and different relationship anxieties that we have that that we can play out through different ways. So interesting to have these emerging Canadian playwrights, young Canadian playwrights, with really interesting, confident, distinct voices.
00:48:28
Speaker
To finish up the list, Ian, it's time. It's our show. It's AI Campfire Return. Now, AI Campfire premiered in 2025, it's been year 30, and since then it's been doing so well.
00:48:46
Speaker
It's done incredibly well. And it has so much to say beyond... You know, beyond the database called C-Berlin telling you Scottish folklore stories with a climate angle, because of all the layers, because she's an AI, because of, you know, because the show has, you know, digital creation on it, because of the climate angle from it and the heritage from Scotland, it has had so many layers that made it tour as far as it has. And that's why we're going to continue within the Campfire universe and we're bringing AI Campfire return.
00:49:24
Speaker
Now, currently it is development and production readiness phase. We're working on it um from May to December, 2026. And we're going to try and do an early stage showing in August, 2026, inviting the audiences into the process.
00:49:37
Speaker
This year, the story blends Scottish folklore, ecological themes, environmentally responsible generative AI intelligence. And we're going to continue with Symbialine as our character. She's our AI-powered database.
00:49:50
Speaker
But this time, we're going to have a look at to like into her origin story and how she got tasked to be, how was she created, and how was she tasked with this huge you know task that she has of preserving and and central Scottish tales.
00:50:03
Speaker
This iteration will also look at some Scottish classics, the Cayley and the Bridget. So it's like Bridget Bride. They're two very ah Scottish folk entities, which cast a big impact on the seasons.
00:50:15
Speaker
And we're also going to look at how the climate is is affecting that and and you their lives and their realms. So this is a project that brings the AI and the festivals research full circle, Ian. Do you want to tell our listeners how how it works, how it works, how it does that?
00:50:30
Speaker
Yeah. Well, you know, one of the things that I think separates this is like, we're very on the surface of what we want. the the AI to to be visible and that the way that we're working really informs what's happening on stage, the type of content that we're creating.
00:50:50
Speaker
And, you know, the the the papers, the the AI and festivals report that we highlighted at the beginning of the episode is, you know, it's rooted in this um this ah doing AI differently white paper and now approach that's coming out of the Turing Institute.
00:51:08
Speaker
And this is really about rethinking what our relationship is with AI, which is what we've been advocating for with a lot of the use and why there's so much research that's that's associated with what we're doing. Really, that same sort of white paper really is part of the the methodological backbone of AI Campfire Return and mirrored a lot of what we were doing with the original AI Campfire and how that related to or thinking about like how are these AI systems going to be impacting our relationship with past and the and and the environment and then how does it come into that work creation as well it's really then about like looking at plural futureities like we're really working against oftentimes very frustrated with working against this idea of like the way that it flattens culture
00:52:03
Speaker
The way that it sort of resolves to vary like final points. And we're trying to bring back the ambiguity and trying to understand like what story is getting coded and how it's about like who's in the room when that happens, what responsibilities that the artists and the creators carry along with that.
00:52:22
Speaker
So you'll be seeing a lot of interesting stuff. I think that's coming out of the way that we are approaching AI in the most ethical way possible, you know, working offline, local computational powers. We're not using large data centers, really being are conscious and and specific about the model use that's there, doing all the footprinting associated with that.
00:52:47
Speaker
Part of our development process is, you know, very strategically touring around to collect our data so that like previous versions, like All of the writing is us. All the foundational visual material is us. All the music is made by humans. Like there is AI in there, right? And the conversation with it, but that it it is really about that, that you not just letting it happen to us.
00:53:15
Speaker
Yeah, and I say e think there's also a lot to be said about the first AI Campfire because it has a story to say, to tell. And it was the first time that we could face artistic events around the world and say, well, this is what we're doing with AI Campfire. This is an exploration of many software, texture, media that we've used and we've put it together. And we're going to continue doing that with future Campfire versions. This one, we are looking to, you know like you said, use the local AI models, try to change the story, trying to use different or as many mixed media as we can so that we can then create something that is useful for everyone to say, okay, well, what did they use? How can we use that? Should we use that? And these are questions that you know many people
00:54:05
Speaker
Many people have, but they don't have somewhere to check or to refer back to. So this is what we're also trying to do with AI Campfire. So the first AI Campfire has tours. It tours Chicago, Toronto, Malta. Now we also have a cinematic adaptation to it, which has been selected for and film festivals in Italy, in the UAE. And the we're also going to be ah screening this in a Brazilian platform. Can tell us a bit more about this?
00:54:31
Speaker
Oh, yeah. We're now forming a partner. And this is where we're looking at this both from the Venue 13 side and the AI Campfire side is that it's ah an immersive online platform. So it's like you take on an avatar and you're going into a 3D space, which can be done through like headsets or on on monitor where you're for streaming.
00:54:50
Speaker
and So it's like a participatory. It's around performance too. So it's trying to create the performance around it. And we're also using this as a foundation for looking at ways of opening up access to the festival through digital content.
00:55:05
Speaker
from Brazil, where it's harder to for people to come over, in partnership with Venue 13, that sort of like hybrid approach is really key to what we're doing. So there it's it's it's also articulating this really specific perspective that we're taking on what does it mean to program things and working with our partners on the not-for-profit side, the CSBA, the Center for a Sustainable Practice in the Arts in Canada, and then Future 13, which are in the process of of developing here, of like, how do we how do we move work around that' that's digital and actually have it be present at the at the festival as well? And therefore also adding onto our own, as effectively, world tour of of the piece.
00:55:49
Speaker
And because this piece, the AI Camp 5 return, is still in development, we are looking for anyone who wants to join and has suggestions on how to make it more special, more interesting, more mixed. So for our collaborations into this project, do contact us. We will leave a contact link in the description. And and that was the whole program.
00:56:08
Speaker
Tickets are now on sale at Venue13.com. Don't miss the chance to laugh and reflect with us at Venue13. Book your tickets early so you can you know start joining in in the fringe excitement with us. There will be relaxed performances. There will be BSL interpretation. There will be digital screening via either a Venue13 platform or the eTeatro WeDo platform. We will leave the link for that in the description as well.
00:56:34
Speaker
Please don't sleep on any of this because, you know, ah that's a full program. we're We're hardly some of the larger venues that have hundreds of shows. We have the one space.
00:56:45
Speaker
And generally, we have 50 seats. Now, drum and bass has fewer. Because you've got to have everybody move around for that. So we can't have 50. fifty the You're not seated. So you can't have 50 seats there. And we're actually ah still working on anchoring down the precise number of seats within Shakespeare Days because it's immersive.
00:57:05
Speaker
And people are moving around, making sure that that's taken care of it. That means that there's even more limited tickets there. So if any of this sounds exciting to you, know that we're a small, medium-sized venue, but which is great for the artists so that they can then fill up a and have people supporting them.
00:57:26
Speaker
Please do that. but Absolutely. To avoid disappointment. Yeah, I agree with you, Ian. And this is a segue on to the next episode. I do believe we should start with the type of fringe goers.
00:57:38
Speaker
I think that should be a fantastic topic for our next episode because I have met people that they like to plan ahead, Ian. They like to book their things in advance. But I also have met many people that say, I just want to go in without a plan. I'm going to walk about, get a flyer and hope for the best. And I think we should actually start next week's, ah you know, next time's episode with that and be like, which one do you think is better? Pros and cons of each style.
00:58:09
Speaker
It is time for our regular CCTA segment, which will continue. We're going to start talking to each of the individual shows, so you'll hear more from them. And just know that sometimes that reading might so be replaced by say like an excerpt from their show. So we'll get a little bit of preview in there. They'll still have a dramatic reading in there. It just might be a preview instead. But right now, we're going to bridge back all the way back to...
00:58:36
Speaker
Fringe 2025 when we were hosting the CCTA and getting through all the shows. And we're going to be reading Here is the Long Now by Isla Cohen, who actually came to the CCTA because of our relationship with the Traverse.
00:58:55
Speaker
She was an artist in residence at the Traverse. And so when we were looking to commission as part of the CCTA, they helped run that too. So that's where the we is going from. But when we were looking to commission just 10 plays for the 10th anniversary of the CCTA, we wanted it, because we were going be doing this venue 13 partnership and presenting all of them, to focus on scouts writers and artists working in Scotland. So that's how in the long now, that that ended up being written and is one of the few, one of 10 new plays that was part of the 2025. Others were greatest hits.
00:59:31
Speaker
greatest hits Isla is an award-winning playwright, performer, and director from Scotland. Isla specializes in making eco-feminist theater and is committed to exploring ideas of class, gender, and ecology in her work.
00:59:45
Speaker
In 2024, was resident writer at the Tron Theater in Glasgow and playwright-in-residence at the Traverse in Edinburgh. Reason plays include All Right Sunshine at the Tron, To Save the Sea with Sleeping Warrior, She-Wolf at Assembly Roth Sea, and through the Assembly Art Award and Alpine Fellowship Theater Prize. It's also a Philippa Brigante. To the Bone.
01:00:12
Speaker
to the bone and and and and daphne or hellfire in in describing here in the long now isla says this play is inspired by the idea of chrono washing which has been proposed and developed by academic michelle bastion and represents a temporal version of green washing Whilst global corporations claim to support long-term planetary-scale thinking and sustainability, they engage in business practices that encourage short-term consumerism and rely on fast-paced production processes, both of which result in significant environmental damage such as plastic waste and pollution.
01:00:54
Speaker
This play dramatizes these tensions of time and responds with a provocation to the audience. So there's a cast, which is not, there's three different roles.
01:01:08
Speaker
We're going to play both of them. ah And they could be played by one or more actor. We've got the sellers, the workers, and the clockmaker. So this can be performed by companies of any size and scale. we're going to It does say that it requires at least three actors, but we're going to try it anyway.
01:01:27
Speaker
For smaller companies, actors can multi-roll between the parts, which is how we're going to pull it off today. The sellers function like a chorus. Lines may be assigned to individuals in smaller groups at the director's discretion to create a cacophony of consumerist voices. These lines should run at a pace and the director may find further opportunities for interruption and overlap.
01:01:47
Speaker
So I think we're both going to try and be the sellers. Do want to be workers or a clockmaker? Oh, we're both reading the sellers together?
01:01:57
Speaker
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01:02:35
Speaker
Buy again. Get free delivery by Wednesday. Or free one-day delivery by tomorrow, 1 p.m. Order within six hours, seven minutes and choose the fastest delivery at checkout. Add to basket. Sale ends in two days, four hours, 52 minutes. and its Order within four hours, 27 minutes and choose fastest delivery at checkout.
01:02:56
Speaker
Sale ends in two days, three hours, and 19 minutes. Sale ends in two days, three hours, and one minute. At the basket, a bell chimes. Welcome to the 10,000-year clock, otherwise known as the clock of the long now.
01:03:09
Speaker
We are building a 10,000-year clock. It's a special clock designed to be a symbol, an icon for long-term thinking. It's of monumental scale inside of a mountain in West Texas, the clock that ticks once a year.
01:03:22
Speaker
where the century hand advances once every hundred years, and the cuckoo comes out on the millennium. Their vision was and still is to build a clock that will keep time for the next 10,000 years.
01:03:34
Speaker
As I see it, humans are now technologically advanced enough that we can create not only extraordinary wonders, but also civilization scale problems. We're likely to need more long-term thinking.
01:03:46
Speaker
A bell chimes. Hi, Susan. We noticed that you added one more item to your shopping basket but didn't continue to check out. Unless you've already done so, simply visit your shopping basket when you're ready to complete your order.
01:03:59
Speaker
Simply visit your shopping basket when you're ready. It's that simple, Susan. Simply visit your shopping basket when you're ready to complete your order. Complete your order, Susan. Continue shopping ge deals, hop offers, frequently thought together, inspired by writing history.
01:04:16
Speaker
Other people are looking at this. Other people want this. What if they take it and you don't get it? What if they take it now? Do you want it, Susan? Do you want it now? Quick, fast, before they get it. I think it's first.
01:04:28
Speaker
Only three left in stock. It's selling fast. Yeah, free delivery by Friday. Or faster one day. Delivery by tomorrow, 1 p.m. Head to basket. Well, don't you want it now, Susan? Don't you need it now? This piece of plastic crap that won't last a week, but you can always buy another. Just throw it in the trash. and Buy another one after because who has to know?
01:04:51
Speaker
Who has to care? Who is it? right Because he'll do the trick for now. It'll make you feel good now. Complete for now. Your order now. Only two left in stock. Tomorrow, 1 p.m.
01:05:01
Speaker
Order within five hours, 31 minutes, and choose fastest delivery at checkout. Tomorrow, 1 p.m. Still in one day, 16 hours, 32 minutes. Only one left in stock. Add to basket. Add to basket. Sale ends in tomorrow, 1 p.m. Bye now. Bye.
01:05:19
Speaker
My opinion that human spans or human attention spans haven't changed much over time. We've always been fairly short-sighted as a species.
01:05:30
Speaker
Sale ends in 9 hours, 26 minutes. But while our attention spans are slightly roughly constant. Sale ends in 5 hours and 13 minutes.
01:05:41
Speaker
Our problems are becoming much bigger. Sale ends in 1 hour, 1 minute. Because of our past successes as a species, at divasque our tools, by now our technologies, selling fast now require us to step it up and longer attention span. Like always said, bell rings.
01:06:02
Speaker
bye now it's about by now long term now now a bell starts ringing. Workers in a warehouse, a production line. The workers package plastic items into cardboard boxes. They pass them along, tape them up, pass them along, slap on an address sticker, and pass them along.
01:06:22
Speaker
At the end of the production line, the final worker opens the boxes and scatters all the plastic, the packaging, and the waste all over the stage. This is repeated until the stage is covered in waste. Meanwhile, the other workers pack faster and faster to keep up. They become frantic, breathless.
01:06:36
Speaker
The clock bell rings louder and louder. In the year 4000, you'll go see this clock and you'll wonder, why on earth did you know this? A worker collapses.
01:06:47
Speaker
End of play. 10 episodes, 11 shows out. We could not be more proud of this 2026 program.
01:06:59
Speaker
As said, tickets are on sale now on the website at Venue13.com. They've got a fantastic lineup, and I'm sure several of these shows are going to be selling fast. And if any of we've talked about today resonated with you, please share this episode, share the program, tag the companies, and tell a friend who loves theater that something special is happening at Venue13 this August.
01:07:18
Speaker
Thank you for listening. Thank you for sticking with us for 10 episodes. And here's to the next 10. See you next time.
01:07:28
Speaker
Thanks for listening to this week's episode. If you enjoyed the conversation, make sure to hit subscribe so you never miss an update. Find us wherever you get your podcasts. We'd love it if you'd take a moment to leave us review.
01:07:40
Speaker
We'd love to hear from you. We're really excited about this program coming out. We want to know what your thoughts are. You're going to hear from all those artists coming up and helping us with reviews and sharing this podcast is a big help to help get the word out about this really special program.
01:07:58
Speaker
If you've got thoughts, questions, or ideas for future episodes, we'd love to hear from you. You can reach us at podcastatvenue13.com across social media. at Venue13Fringe.
01:08:10
Speaker
Our back episodes and transcripts can be found on our website on the podcast menu at Venue13. The music you heard today and throughout the episode is by Dusty Dex and we license that through Epidemic Sound. This episode's CCTA Play was Here in the Long Now by Isla Cohen.
01:08:29
Speaker
Until next time, thanks for tuning in and we'll be back with another episode about a week. Music