Uncanny Valley   Rimini Protokoll

The development of machines and artificial intelligence has always been a source of inspiration for artists – as an opportunity but also as a danger, especially when humanised. Asia is leading the way in the production of humanoid robots. An outward resemblance to humans is supposed to facilitate acceptance, but it also arouses mistrust – an acceptance gap, an “Uncanny Valley”.

Uncanny Valley explores the human-machine relationship and the questions it raises. Everything seems quite normal, Thomas Melle on a reading tour: a chair, a table for his laptop, a glass of water. The actor, however, is the author’s double, recreated down to the last detail. Do its facial expressions, gestures, language and spoken words trigger empathy and if so, with whom: with the fragile human being or with the machine? Melle consciously relinquishes control to the android. Through the use of the robot, he hopes to overcome a loss of control caused by his manic-depressive episodes.

Helgard Haug, Stefan Kaegi and Daniel Wetzel founded the artists’ collective Rimini Protokoll in 2000. Since then, they have helped to expand theatre through new perspectives on reality. Thomas Melle writes plays and novels. With The World at My Back he was shortlisted for the German Book Prize for the second time in 2016.