Parasocial Activity: James McAvoy and Inspiring conversations about connection in our digital disconnect (Interview)

Appearing as part of the Scottish Mental Health Art Festival (SMHAF), for Briony Williams, Parasocial Activity produced by Gallus Productions and Silly Mission Productions, catapulted her from a wee room upstairs at Greenside’s Riddles Court on the Royal Mile in 2025 with a late-night show at the Fringe, Do Astronauts Masturbate in Space to one of the sensations of the 2026 Fringe, winning a Fringe First. It sold out at Gilded Balloon’s Patter Hoose and is now finding life beyond the fringe with an appearance at SMHAF and more to come. We got the chance to put some pertinent questions directly to Briony.

Tell me about the real life origins of the story.

Parasocial Activity was born from a real life moment that happened to me back in 2022 when I met James McAvoy in the Sauchiehall Street Costa. I was still living in Paris at the time and decided that I wanted to come home and surprise my Mum for a wee Mother’s Day gift as I hadn’t been able to spend this day with her since I moved away in 2018. We bumped into James McAvoy in the Costa and he was incredibly kind and secured us both tickets to see the brilliant production of Cyrano de Bergerac that he was performing in that night.

Safe to say, no Mother’s Day gift I’ve given since has ever lived up to this! The opening sequence of the play is inspired by that real life interaction I had with James McAvoy and was a great jumping off point to exploring where a story like this could go. I have to clarify though, while it is based on this real-life experience: it is a work of fiction! 

Sum up for us, what the story, to you, is about.

A young woman in search of the very human need of connection, who in her loneliness ends up finding it in the wrong place. And how can we distinguish between fantasy and reality when our fantasies feel so real? 

And the connection between character offstage, and your character onstage is bound up in technology?

I was thinking a lot about the way technology is rapidly developing and what effect it’s having on our relationships, our privacy and our need for connection. I was really interested in exploring and exploiting this world we now find ourselves in, where everyone is so connected and where we have access to so much of each other’s lives, but, where it’s also extremely easy to feel completely isolated. 

This show is at times very personal to me and my own experiences of feeling lonely or as though I am falling behind in life as I am just trying to navigate my way through the world, so it was an incredibly vulnerable and exposing experience performing it that first time.

And do you know how James McAvoy feels about the story being told onstage?

I was absolutely terrified about what James McAvoy’s reaction might be if he found out about the show, but he has just been incredibly gracious, kind and supportive about it which I’m very grateful for. 

How was it taking the show to the Fringe after the success of Do Astronauts?

I don’t think I’ve ever been as nervous in my life as I was in the moments before I walked on stage on the first preview night at the Fringe. While I have performed at the Fringe before, including my own work last year, which were very exciting but nerve-wracking experiences, this was my very first time taking to the stage by myself. I had never performed in a solo show before, let alone have it be my own writing as well. 

This was my debut in both disciplines, so I was absolutely terrified! I’m incredibly grateful to my wonderful team for bolstering me and supporting me throughout the whole process at the Fringe and making sure I went on stage that first night! I was (and still am) extremely overwhelmed by the reception the play has had and am just so grateful that it has resonated with people in the way that it has. 

So, what was the connection that brought Parasocial Activity to the SMHAF, and why is it important?

Parasocial Activity was shortlisted for the Mental Health Foundation Award at the Edinburgh Fringe which means a huge deal to me! One of my goals when writing Parasocial Activity was to shed light on the dangers that can occur online when safeguarding is not in place and the places that this can lead someone when they are simply looking for connection, so I feel incredibly honoured that my work was recognised in this was and subsequently invited to perform as part of the SMHAF.

And you now will be at the Òran Mór for a week. Do you have any plans to keep going thereafter, or what is next?

I hope that watching Parasocial Activity would inspire conversations around the way we connect with each other and how to keep ourselves safe online, conversations which, as our world grows more and more digital, become increasingly important. 

I’m extremely excited to take Parasocial Activity to A Play, A Pie and a Pint (PPP) in November. I absolutely adore PPP and the play is partially set in Glasgow and laced with Glaswegian patter so I can’t wait to perform it there.  My brilliant producers Gallus Productions and Silly Mission Productions have been working so hard to find more opportunities and places to take the show. 

We have an exciting London announcement coming in the next few days so keep your eyes peeled! At the moment I can’t say more, but what I can say is that this is not the end for Parasocial Activity! 

Parasocial Activity is at the Scottish Mental Health Art Festival, Summerhall on Friday 30th October as part of their young people’s gathering.

Parasocial Activity at Òran Mór, A Play, A Pie, and A Pint