EDINBURGH 2018: BWW Q&A- Yianni Agisilaou

Tell us a bit about I, Human.

Well I'm glad you asked. It's a delightful, satirical romp through the cutting edge of technology today. Whether it's Facebook hoovering up your data, people having sexual relationships with robots or what Artificial Intelligence means for the future of work, these are questions that affect us all. It's been honed during the festival season in Australia so it's very tight and very funny.

What was the inspiration to write the show?

It's gone through a lot of iterations. Originally I wanted to write a show about meaning, where people look for it, how we find it in an increasingly secular world: in relationships, work, values and friendships. Then seeing how social media reduces us all to a collection of likes and preference to on-sell to advertisers, automation and AI changing which jobs exist and how they're valued, and friendships and debates increasingly taking place remotely and online, I saw that technology more than ever is affecting all of these things and I thought that it was a good lens through which to examine them.

Why bring it to Edinburgh?

Because Edinburgh is the best arts festival in the world, I love spending August there and because it's the best place to see the world's best work and be inspired to do better work yourself.

Who would you recommend comes to see I, Human?

Anyone who feels that somehow in amongst all the fancy bells and whistles of our connected modern world, that we've lost a more genuine kind of connection. People who Facebook might 'classify' as 'Early adopters' (me) and 'technophobes' (my girlfriend) alike. Whichever camp you fall into, there's something in the show for you.

Are there any other shows you're hoping to catch at the festival?

Always. Mark Watson, John-Luke Roberts, Nick Revell, Laura Lexx and probably a whole bunch of other stuff that I haven't even seen yet! I've heard great things about Eli Matthewson's show too, so I'm looking forward to seeing that.

Yianni Agisilaou: I, Human is at the Pleasance 10 Dome from August 1st - 26th (not 14th)

Tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/yianni-agisilaou-i-human

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