Chronicle by Georgea-Elena Ștefan
Uncanny Valley, created by Rimini Protokoll, a provocative show, a one-man show, or even better, a one-humanoid show, reveals a new part of the theatre and demonstrates its infinite possibilities for adaptation.
As we enter the room, in the semi-shade we see something that resembles a man. Through the dimensions, the silhouette, and the way he sits on the chair he resembles a real person, but the stillness and the lack of any sound places him in another world. Once we are seated, the lights turn on, the action begins. We see the humanoid robot, and next to it, we see a white panel, as if we were going to witness a presentation about this year's next innovative product. Now he seems to look even more like a human. The bodily details are surprising, yet the expressionless face and the strange way in which he moves alienate him from human nature.
The writer Thomas Mille faces bipolarity, his daily life is thus becoming difficult. We are all, he says, unstable in our own way, "this disease is an intensification of what lies latent in us." Thus, he decides to build a robotic version to take his place in various daily activities. An android that is taught to say the same things at every appearance, to be perfect, to make no mistakes.
We imagine an almost utopian world, where people could even be replaced by humanoids, where the socialization and interactions so common to us would be non-existent. The result is a kind of automated theatre, where the robot is programmed to say the same things, impeccably, every time. The charm of the theatre is lost, all the perfect imperfections and emotional bonds that make it close to people disappear. There remains only something weird and strange. Thus, the installation urges us to reflect on the truth of the world we live in and to ask ourselves if what we see is reality or just a distortion of the information with which we interact.
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"Ph[r]ases"- Creative Formulas is a programme conceived by Diana Katharina and Daniela Șilindean together with the team of the German State Theatre Timișoara, dedicated to the theatre chronicle within the Eurothalia 2023 European Theatre Festival, held between 20-30 September 2023, financed by the National Cultural Program Timișoara - European Capital of Culture in 2023.
