Edinburgh Fringe Chats (#39): Faye Yan, IS THERE WORK ON MARS?

30 Jun

Conducted by Emmie for Theatre and Tonic

As anticipation builds for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025, we’re catching up with a range of exciting creatives preparing to bring their work to the world’s largest arts festival this August. In this series, we delve into the stories behind the shows, the inspiration driving the artists, and what audiences can expect.

Today, we’re joined by Faye Yan to chat about Is There Work On Mars?

1. Can you begin by telling us about your show and what inspired it?

Is There Work On Mars? is a semi-autobiographical, neurospicy solo performance about an Asian woman with a maths learning disability who tries to pass the ‘Martian Worker’s Immigration Exam’ conducted by Nylon Tusk’s SpaceY. The show places the audience in an absurdist testing lab of dystopian speculations, delving into ableist education systems, the experience of living in the diaspora, and ridiculous immigration requirements with humour and irreverence. Is There Work On Mars? is a satirical reminder that maybe being a ‘failure’ in life can be an act of rebellion in our current sociopolitical landscape.

The show is inspired by the intersectionality of neurodiversity, immigration and racial microaggressions. By seeing the personal as political, I try to combine my personal experience of being a late-diagnosed neurodiverse woman who grew up in a competitive educational culture with the current dystopian political environment. I also put a lot of experiences I’ve had with immigration into the show, such as real questions I’ve had to answer when applying for visas.

2. What made you want to bring this work to the Fringe this year?

I brought Is There Work on Mars? to Edinburgh Fringe last year for a shorter run and had a magical experience sharing the piece with audiences from all over the world, which encouraged me to perform this show again for a full run at Fringe this year. I also had a ‘work-in-progress’ mindset performing the show last year and developed the show further after receiving audience feedback, so I’m very excited to share the new developments this year.

3. How would you describe your show in three words?

Brutal, satirical, absurd.

4. What do you hope audiences take away from watching your performance?

I hope the show can be a space for the audience to reflect on multiple layers of societal issues in relation to their diverse personal experiences. Maybe they’ll resonate with some aspects of my experience, maybe they’ll walk away with something they haven’t thought of before. While the show delves into neurodiversity and immigration, there isn’t a singular message I want to give to the audience. The show is more like an absurd lab of ideas that hopefully raises more questions than provides answers.

5. What’s your top tip for surviving the Fringe?

I spent a lot of time exploring the suburbs of Edinburgh at last Fringe and that really helped me to recharge! Central Edinburgh is super overstimulating during Fringe, and it’s easy to forget that the rest of the world exists when you spend an entire month there to display your most vulnerable self for the whole world. Touching a tree in a quiet area can really help to ground yourself in this crazy month.

6. Where and when can people see your show?

ZOO Playground 1, 1-24 August every day (except Wednesdays) at 16:30.