![[EOL]. END OF LIFE VR-Theater](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/611120_e0737425c26a4bbd8fd0caa07315f1f0~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_810,h_540,al_c,q_85,enc_avif,quality_auto/611120_e0737425c26a4bbd8fd0caa07315f1f0~mv2.jpg)
We are thrilled to announce that our production [EOL]. END OF LIFE has been selected as one of the ten most remarkable performances of the past year for the prestigious Theatertreffen 2025 in Berlin!
[EOL]. END OF LIFE premiered on September 26, 2024, at studio brut, with performances until October 6. The production was a co-production with brut wien and supported by a residency at ZKM Karlsruhe.
Jury’s Perspective
The jury, consisting of Eva Behrendt, Janis El-Bira, Valeria Heintges, Sabine Leucht, Martin Thomas Pesl, Katrin Ullmann, and Sascha Westphal, praised [EOL]. END OF LIFE for its innovative use of Virtual Reality as both a theatrical medium and theme. Here’s an excerpt from the jury’s statement:
„Virtual reality has arrived in the theatre, even if both are still often wary of each other. This VR-experience by the duo DARUM (Victoria Halper and Kai Krösche) looks at virtual worlds, and more specifically at the remnants of our daily interactions in the web: Memories of ephemera that never fade. How many of these data heaps can the net endure? Do we have any kind of responsibility for them? Could we even – love them? When audience members put on a pair of VR-goggles, they receive an area of 9.6m². The company IRL (Imaginary Reality Landscapes) then asks them to check virtual ruins that have not been accessed for a long time. The task is to decide what should be permanently deleted and what is to be absorbed into the metaverse. But then, the virtual realm takes the examiners hostage, and a deeply moving story unfolds; a story that tests our relationship with digital legacies and sets new standards of virtual storytelling. Is this still theatre or is it theatre yet?“
Development during Residency at ZKM Karlsruhe
A significant part of the conceptual work for [EOL]. END OF LIFE was developed during our residency at the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe statt. ZKM serves as a platform for research, development, and exploration of both digital and analog media art. This residency allowed us to dive deeply into discussions and ideas surrounding digital media, Virtual Reality, and the Metaverse. Our artistic research included topics such as the “Right to Be Forgotten” and digital preservation practices. We also conducted interviews with various ZKM experts, including Götz Dipper (Institute for Music and Acoustics), Bernd Lintermann (Hertz-Lab), Tina Lorenz (Head of the Hertz-Lab), lead archivist Felix Mittelberger, Dorcas Müller (Laboratory for Antiquated Video Systems), and Morgane Stricot (Head of Digital Restoration). These intense research sessions and creative exchanges at ZKM significantly contributed to the development of [EOL]. END OF LIFE.
About [EOL]. End of Life
In [EOL]. END OF LIFE, the audience takes on the role of "outsourced freelancers" for the fictional trillion-dollar company Imaginary Reality Landscapes (IRL). Their task? To decide which digital traces should remain in tomorrow's flourishing virtual parallel worlds—and which should be permanently deleted. During their journey through forgotten virtual spaces, participants encounter the echoes of past existences and are confronted with profound questions about memory, loss, and how we wish to be remembered in an increasingly digital world.
[EOL]. END OF LIFE touches on themes we first explored in our 2021 hyperlink installation 404-TOTLINK (a co-production with Impulse Theater Festival).
Invitation to Theatertreffen - Berliner Festspiele
The Theatertreffen is one of the most prestigious theater festivals in the German-speaking world. Every year, a jury of critics selects the ten most remarkable performances from up to 600 productions. Our production, [EOL]. END OF LIFE, was chosen from a total of 38 productions discussed by the jury.
The Theatertreffen 2025 will take place from May 2 to 18 in Berlin. The detailed schedule will be released on April 4, and ticket sales begin on April 17 at 2:00 PM. We are excited to present [EOL]. END OF LIFEin this fantastic setting and look forward to many artistic encounters and discovering the other invited productions.
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to brut Wien, ZKM Karlsruhe, and all contributors who helped bring [EOL]. END OF LIFE to life. This invitation is a shared success.
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