Fun, Fashion, and Firearms: The American Dream!
The United States is undergoing an authoritarian makeover...and your favourite influencer is live-streaming it with a ring light.
Please give a warm welcome to your parasocial bestie: the new face of the dystopia! Set in an all-too-recognisable political landscape, Semi-Automatic SmokeShow follows a popular influencer who gets chosen by tech oligarchs to livestream beauty tutorials laced with American propaganda. This show combines horror, humour, clowning, and choreography to create a chaotic, unhinged landscape that exposes the surreal horror of modern American life. Think Black Mirror meets Cabaret, adorned with a ring light and red lipstick.
After a successful London debut at Kaleidoscope Theatre Festival, this one-woman dark comedy by UK-based American actor Delaney Conway is firing its way to Greenside at George Street, Lime Studio, 18-23 August at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. With your support, we'll be able to cover all of the fun costs that make EdFringe shows come to life!
Where Your Support Goes
Edinburgh Fringe is incredible, and can be incredibly expensive too! Here's how your donations will help Semi-Automatic SmokeShow:
- Venue hire - £1,800
- Creatives fees - £1,600
- BSL Interpreter - £500
- Transportation - £300
- Accommodation - £1,000
Project Origins
Semi-Automatic SmokeShow was first developed in 2024 as part of the MA Acting Creative Project at Mountview, and has since grown into a genre-defying political satire that’s both hilarious and horrifying. The piece explores the dark irony of a woman caught in the very system she’s helping to sell, trapped between influencer culture and authoritarian collapse.
About the Writer-Performer
Delaney Conway is a London-based actor, writer, and theatre maker originally from the Washington, D.C. area. With a dance background, a sharp eye for the absurd, and a passion for confronting political truths through performance, Conway uses dark comedy to ignite uncomfortable conversations.
Semi-Automatic SmokeShow Credits
Written & Performed by Delaney Conway
Directed by Meghan Bartual Smyth
Technical Stage Manager Sarah O'Neill
Photography by Bex Fahey