How would you describe your show to someone discovering it for the first time at the Fringe? Did You Charge Your Phone for the End of the World? is a laugh-out-loud, absurd satire set in a Brooklyn advertising agency in the dystopian near future. The year is 2034. A city-demolishing asteroid is heading for Brooklyn. The government refuses to alert the public of the impending catastrophe until a boutique advertising agency can come up with a positive rebrand — in the form of an upbeat jingle — for the calamitous space rock. What moment, idea or frustration first sparked this show into existence? I’m fascinated by depictions of the creative process, but I’d become bored with writing about the experience of being a writer or an actor. Turning the lens on an advertising agency felt like a new angle — creative people using their talents to achieve some goal that they might not feel great about. In a time where corporations and enterprises are compelled to bow to authoritarian demands, this felt like a timely piece. Making the thing that this advertising agency needs to rebrand an asteroid felt like a funny way to ramp up the stakes. How has the show evolved from its earliest idea to what audiences will see now? Initially, the narrative was told over two distinct timelines, one in our present 2026, showing how these characters met, and the other in 2034, showing their desultory situation. But I found that the dystopian future timeline was by far the more compelling, and letting the characters’ backstories filter through rather than being stated directly added an interesting tension when left to stand alone. What makes Edinburgh Fringe the right place for this show right now? Like many Fringe shows, this show does not fit neatly into any one category. It is a dark comedy, a satire, kind of a sketch comedy revue, kind of a science fiction. It has original songs, but it’s not quite a musical. It takes place over a tight hour and is high energy all the way through. It’s absurd, with surreal detours away from the main plot. Fringe audiences expect to see original concepts unlike anything they’ve seen before on stage, and that is what this show will give them. What does bringing this particular show to the Fringe represent for you personally? Bringing Did You Charge Your Phone for the End of the World? to this year’s Fringe feels like a culmination of some kind; a closing of the circle. We brought a sketch show called Chimp Cocktail to last year’s Fringe for a brief run, and this show is very much inspired by the shows we saw while we were there. This is the first time I’ve ever included original songs in a show, and so sorting out the tech needs for a show that has live musical elements was challenging in its novelty for me. If audiences leave the venue holding onto one thing, what do you hope it is? I hope that audiences leave the show feeling as though they’ve seen something completely original and unlike anything they’ve seen onstage before. Certainly I’d love for people to laugh, and if that laughter provokes thought on some the show’s larger themes — anti-capitalism, friendship, artistic fulfillment — that’s an added bonus. How do you think performing this show during a Fringe run will shape it? The Fringe is such an amazing place to polish a show. Not only do we have the opportunity to perform it night after night, but we get to perform the show for audiences from all over the world. That diversity of audience really lets you know what is and isn’t working, allowing you to sand off those edges and work towards a final product. Who do you hope this show finds at the Fringe? I hope this show finds struggling artists. It’s a show about finding artistic fulfillment in a world dominated by capitalism. For folx who are working so hard to achieve some kind of creative fulfillment only to be stymied by the needs of rent, food, shelter, etc., this is a show that will resonate. Finally, if this show came with a warning label, what would it say? WARNING: This show may cause socialism. Did You Charge Your Phone For The End Of The World? runs at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 17th-29th August 2026 (except 23rd).
Next in our Edinburgh Fringe interview series, we speak to Infinite Monkey Theater Co. about bringing their latest show to the festival. “The year is 2034. A city-demolishing asteroid is heading for Brooklyn. The government refuses to alert the public to the impending catastrophe until a boutique advertising agency can come up with a positive rebrand for the calamitous asteroid.”
What has been the most unexpectedly challenging part of getting this show to Edinburgh?
