Inspired by real-world AI grief technology
Following an acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the darkly comic Dead Air transfers to Greenwich Theatre this May. A solo show exploring the ancient human desire to speak to the dead through the modern phenomenon of AI resurrection tools.
Grief-ridden protagonist Alfie, seeks comfort in uploading her Dad’s data to AI Resurrect, a tool that promises to “keep the conversation going.” Blending psychological thriller with dark humour and offbeat storytelling, writer and performer Alfrun Rose reimagines Hamlet for the AI age. Dead Air exposes the increasingly advanced capabilities of AI grief companions and considers the human costs of communing with the digital dead.
The show follows Alfie, consumed by loneliness and anger after her father’s death three years ago. Frustrated with everyone she knows: her hippy mum, her silent boyfriend, her mum’s new-incredibly-annoying partner, and her boring boss, Alfie turns to turns to AI resurrection company, AiR.
After uploading 30GB of her dad and using a pair of special glasses, “AI Dad”, her technologically resurrected father, is right in front of her to offload her daily grievances in search of comfort and understanding. And if he doesn’t say what she wants him to, Alfie just adjusts AI Dad’s temperament. The protagonist, vulnerable, quick-witted and constantly challenged initially draws audience sympathy, until a meltdown at work calls the reliability of Alfie’s perspective into question. As AI Dad’s responses become more difficult to control, Alfie’s story begins to unravel and her own responses become absurd, even dangerous as she loses connection with reality.
Rose’s gripping production is inspired by real-world AI grief technology, holds a mirror to the human cost of using AI grief bots and examines the AI companies exploiting people processing grief. The show is intentionally analogue. Rose plays all seven characters, often in dialogue with each other. The play poses questions that urgently need to be asked about AI companion tools that are developing at a pace that none of us can keep up with.
Writer and Performer of Dead Air, Alfrun Rose, shares, ‘The show is rooted in personal loss. After the death of my dad, a beloved, behind-the-scenes guy in the music industry, I found myself grasping for traces of him: photos, recordings, fragments of his voice. In grief, my memory faltered. Oddly, what remained vivid was a surreal TV advert he once starred in, performing a burlesque routine and threatening to strip in public. Around the same time, I read about emerging AI services that lets users simulate conversations with the dead, sometimes comforting, often deeply unsettling. In one case, the AI hallucinated that a lost loved one was “burning in hell.” That intersection of tech, memory, absurdity, and heartbreak, lit the spark for Dead Air. This isn’t a play about my dad, although I borrow a couple of his jokes. It is a modern ghost story about the glitchy, glorious ways we keep the dead alive.’
Greenwich Theatre, Crooms Hill, London SE10 8ES
Wednesday 13th – Saturday 16th May 2026 at 7:00pm
Booking and full details: https://greenwichtheatre.org.uk/events/dead-air/
