Target Audience is a funny, adept critique of contemporary corporate and media culture, written by Dan Bishop to warn of a not-so-distant future where art is disregarded entirely in the name of profiteering in the media industry. The comedic aspect of this dramatic comedy takes precedent, with the starkly different, and odd, personalities of each character bouncing off each other in a hilariously fruitful way.
The highlight of the show is Molly Windust, playing the mild-mannered and overly accommodating Bruiser, who avoids falling into stereotypes by overlaying her performance with a layer of hilarious weirdness. Her use of emphasis creates punchlines out of nothing, and her anxiety bubbling below the surface provides a stark contrast against the seemingly calm Angie.
Target Audience is a show marked by contrasts, with the perpetually nerve-wrecked Tobias acting as Angie’s foil. The meek, unavoidably British performance of the former gives the latter room to be almost sickeningly American, with Bishop finding a way to poke fun at both British and American culture simultaneously. The stage direction serves to exaggerate these contrasts, with characters literally switching sides as the narrative progresses. Sections of the show’s humour are also rooted in contrast, with the oxymoronic ‘armed pacifist’ getting one of the bigger laughs from the audience.
Tobias’ moral quandary of whether to prioritise his principles or his financial position provides the backdrop for greater points about the effect that capitalism has on art, with Bruiser and Angie being obsessed with shaping the TV show around ‘the data’ but unable to explain why and struggling to respond to criticisms of it. The data acts as a convenient moral excuse, with the characters brushing off accusations of prejudiced marketing by repeating the mantra that “the data is the data.” The lone scene of the joy inherent in the artistic process is swiftly cut short by the prioritisation of corporate interests.
The show’s message does seem to become slightly morally confused at points, with characters oscillating back and forth between principles and profit in a way that feels like it is more concerned with dramatic intrigue than a cohesive morality. These ethical seesaws would work better with more groundwork laid for them, as a character suddenly doubting their principles after standing by them steadfastly for the previous 55 minutes doesn’t necessarily feel warranted. Although, Bishop may be trying to make a point about the immediately corrupting power of money. The narrative is also weighed down by a slightly cliched plot twist that doesn’t add much to the overall narrative, and certainly not in a way that couldn’t be achieved otherwise.
At its heart, Target Audience is a moral tale of the dangers of prioritising money over art, delivered in a satirical, thought-provoking comedy. While the narrative falls slightly short at points, it is consistently funny, with a witty, The Thick of it-esque tone; Dan Bishop pointedly combines the bizarre and the mundane, in a very thoughtful manner.
Target Audience is running until 30 August (not the 17th ) at Above at Pleasance Courtyard. Buy tickets here.
Image by Ali Gorman, provided to The Student as press material.
