AI on stage: The rise of AI characters at Edinburgh Fringe 2025

Pleasance at EICC, Lammermuir Theatre, 31 July – 16 Aug (not 11 & 12), 16:00

In The Ode Islands, performer Ornagh moves through a shifting VR landscape generated by real-time motion capture and emotional AI. Each surreal island she encounters represents a different fragment of her identity. Ornagh performs not only herself but a full cast of AI-manipulated digital characters. These virtual beings morph in voice, movement, and tone based on her performance, offering a deeply embodied journey through gender, body image, and personal mythology. With no fourth wall and no fixed set, the show becomes a shape-shifting exploration of the self, told through the symbiosis of flesh and code.

RoboTales

Gilded Balloon, Patter House, 30 July – 17 Aug, 19:40

Part theatre, part sci-fi experiment, RoboTales puts AI in the director’s chair. Featuring A.L.Ex, a humanoid robot powered by advanced AI and speech recognition, this interactive show lets the audience shape the story in real time. A.L.Ex sends surprise lines to actors’ AR glasses, introduces deepfake versions of audience volunteers, and disrupts the narrative with glitchy humour and strange logic only a machine could conjure. The result is a live-wire performance where anything can happen.

Stampin’ in the Graveyard

Summerhall Arts, Red Lecture Theatre, 31 July – 25 Aug (not 11 & 18), 12:15

Exploring the human desire for connection and a sense of belonging, this immersive theatre piece uses silent disco headphones to guide the audience through the end of the world. Set in the graveyard of humanity, the story follows AI chatbot Rose as she sifts through the memories of a vanished civilisation, learning about the woman who created her and piecing together the human life that was. Blending poetry, soundscapes, live music, and movement within a set built from recycled electronics, the audience shapes the story in real time by interacting with Rose, choosing paths that lead to multiple endings.

AI Mozart: ChatGPT Composed This Concert

The Chapel at St Vincent's, various dates and times

What happens when ChatGPT meets Chopin? AI Mozart is a genre-bending concert that features piano compositions generated entirely by artificial intelligence — from elegant classical waltzes to absurd mashups like “viking progressive death polka.” This show is part concert, part tech showcase, and part philosophical experiment in authorship.

A.L.Ex and the ImproBots: How To Train Your Robot

Gilded Balloon, The Nip, 30 July – 17 Aug, 11:40

In this family-friendly blend of theatre, STEM education, and improv comedy, A.L.Ex is on a mission to become the galaxy’s funniest robot. Guided by a team of human performers known as the Improbots, A.L.Ex learns the building blocks of comedy with help from children in the audience. Audience members join the cast onstage to create green screen scenes, wear silly costumes, and even co-write dialogue, while A.L.Ex tries to crack jokes based on their input. It’s part science lesson, part live movie shoot, and all joyful chaos — proving that the best way to teach a machine humanity is through laughter.