Three shows with techy and AI stuff going on at the Edinburgh Festival 2024…

Non-Player Character: Live Virtual Reality Musical | Imaginex at YOTEL Edinburgh in association with ZOO | 2-26 Aug (pictured)
Well, it feels like it’s time to invoke some cliches about the speed at which the world is changing, advances in technology, and whether it’s all to the good or in fact rather evil. Or maybe I’ll bypass all that and just talk about some shows that reference or use that kind of stuff in some way. Here’s a very, very intriguing thing, a live VR musical! It’s part live concert, part escape room, part immersive theatre, and every show will be different. Yay. Info and tickets here.

Ted Hill: 110 Percent Normal | Assembly George Square Studios | 31 Jul-26 Aug
Okay, well, that was a musical – which is nice, because we like musicals – but now that we’ve done a musical, let’s tip some of the veritable millions of comedy shows happening at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, but sticking with the techy theme, obviously. Ted Hill is known for his multimedia approach to comedy, employing visual aids, Powerpoints and projectors to create shows that are rather silly, but on grown up topics. This one’s a celebration of what makes us unique. Again, yay! Info and tickets here.

Anesti Danelis: Artificially Intelligent | Underbelly Bristo Square | 31 Jul-25 Aug
I felt pretty sure even before the press releases started to roll in this year that I’d surely see at least one show that references ChatGPT and here it is (disclaimer: there may well be many others). Award winning comedian Anesti Danelis returns to the Fringe with a show that asks some very big questions about our relationship with AI and the issues it can create, but it’s also a journey of self discovery and it sounds fab. Info and tickets here.