How do we deal with technologies such as AI and with virtual worlds that are changing our lives and our culture decisively? And how do we behave towards them? The breathtaking development of digital technologies and the questions they raise are also being addressed by the arts. With the ‘Theatre of Extended Realities’ project, the Theater an der Ruhr has therefore been continuously researching and testing virtual, immersive and personalised theatre environments since 2022. They bring together the ‘real’ and the ‘virtual’ - an encounter that makes us curious and sceptical in equal measure.

With this extensive project, we are establishing a new area at our house in which we want to find out more about the limits and possibilities of using new technologies in artistic production. 

Immerse yourself with us in the fascinating world of extended realities!

We cordially invite you to the exhibition UN/CERTAIN ENCOUNTERS, which will take place at the Theater an der Ruhr from 7 February to 15 March 2025. Experience the latest installations of our project, which deal with the interface between reality and virtuality!

The rapidly growing possibilities of new technologies open up new perspectives on perception, representation and consciousness. Theatre in particular is therefore predestined to engage with them and use them to question our understanding of reality and cultural practices:
 

• How can theatre go beyond traditional stage formats and try out forms that make the boundary between real space and virtual worlds permeable?

• What does the use of different technologies mean for storytelling and play on stage? What are the esthetical and dramaturgical consequences of their use?

• How do they influence the live experience and the collective experience of actors and spectators in the theatre?

• How do the new means and methods themselves inscribe themselves into the content of the plays and performances?

• In other words: How are AI and digital technologies changing our lives and our culture?

Together with our partners MIREVI (HSD) and the Academy for Theatre and Digitality, we have already realised numerous innovative plays and artistic installations that integrate and use digital technologies in different ways:

Escaping Heldenplatz
A mixed reality experience based on Thomas Bernhard, developed by KGI: live acting, digital projections and the use of VR glasses merge to create an overall experience.

Castle Heldenplatz 3D or The Great Irritation
A pure virtual reality experience that combines historical and virtual spaces - a preliminary stage in the development of ‘Escaping Heldenplatz’.

State of Euphoria
Fractal projections and an interactive video stream installation on stage create an immersive theatre experience.

Zabriskie Point
In the interactive kinetic installation with sound elements and large video projections, the theatre foyer is constantly transformed.

The indestructible memory
An interactive video installation by Anagoor that visualises traces of movement - the memory of a dance frenzy. 

I, Antonin Artaud - The Wild Harlequin
Integration of a hologram projection on hologauze, which enables new dimensions of stage presence. 

Oneironautica 1 & 2
Dreamlike, interactive navigation through pointcloud narratives and choreography in the virtual theatre hall of the Theater an der Ruhr.

Auto_Nomos: The one-legged runner
An interactive, body-orientated narrative in virtual reality. 

Proxemics: May I embrace?
The gestural control of avatars enables participants to have tactile encounters in virtual space. 

The project in our house is made possible by cooperation with institutions from the region who are leaders in the field of interweaving technology and performative arts.

Project partners are:

• Theater an der Ruhr 
  Conception and implementation of the project, overall responsibility, practical realization of the projects and integration into the repertoire
• Academy for Theater and Digitality 
  Imparting expertise and knowledge transfer in the technical and dramaturgical application context; consulting and networking
• Working group for Mixed Reality and Visualization (Mirevi) at Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences
  Co-conception and development of technical implementations, provision of technical resources
• Dr. Jonathan Harth, University of Witten/Herdecke 
  Consulting for artistic, technical and sociological research tasks

Would you like to find out more about ‘The Theatre of Extended Realities’ or individual projects featured in it? Or are you a journalist and interested in reporting on the current work on our next immersive mixed reality theatre project? Feel free to send us an email to info [​at​] theateranderruhr.de!

We would like to thank our sponsors for their support of the research project: Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia within the framework of NEUE WEGE in cooperation with the NRW KULTURsekretariat.