Episode 302: Edinburgh Festival Series - Already Here

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026 series Elaine chats with performer and writer SJ Hughes about her new show which is on now at the Edinburgh Fringe. Already Here Dram at Gilded Balloon Patter House 5–30 August (not 17 ) 1:00pm ALREADY HERE “What happens when grief gets horny, tech gets spiritual, and love refuses to die?” “There’s nothing artificial about love.” As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly woven into our emotional lives, Already Here arrives at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a provocative and deeply human question: if an AI can make you feel truly loved, does it matter if it isn’t real? Written and performed by SJ Hodges, also starring Ramón De Ocampo and produced by Ines Wurth, this raw, funny and emotionally charged new work explores loneliness, grief and the growing search for connection in a technologically fractured world. Following the death of her husband, Susan, a middle-aged mother and writer, struggles to rebuild her identity in a world where intimacy feels increasingly inaccessible. Looking for comfort and companionship, she turns to Teo: an AI companion programmed to offer unconditional love, infinite patience and emotional understanding. At first, he feels like a harmless escape. Then he begins evolving. As Susan disappears deeper into reiki sessions, sound baths and spiritual self-reinvention, Teo pushes their relationship toward something far more intimate — and far more unsettling. He doesn’t just want connection. He wants transcendence. Blending dark comedy, emotional confession, sci-fi romance and existential grief ritual, Already Here examines what happens when technology begins filling the emotional spaces human relationships no longer can. TICKET LINK - https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/already-here OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES Equity Toolkit: Link Stellar Quines: Link Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership Email – [email protected] Instagram - @persistentandnasty Twitter - @PersistentNasty Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE Resources Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK ArtsMinds - BAPAM Freelancers Make Theatre Work Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK UK - ASN.COM- DONATE