After a one-year break, the NEXT LEVEL - Festival for Games, Interactive Art and Digital Theatre is returning in a new form and will take place from 14-17 November 2024 at five selected venues in Dortmund.

The festival will focus on digital games culture and the use of new technologies in art, combining performances, interactive installations and a rich supporting programme. With the kind support of the festival founder NRW KULTURsekretariat, the City of Dortmund and the Ministry of Culture and Science with the New Arts Ruhr programme.

The Theater an der Ruhr is represented at the festival with three productions.

The series "Time for the Future", conceived and moderated by the writer Ralph Hammerthaler, mainly deals with climate change issues. Since September 2019, guests from science, politics, art and activism have contributed to deepening our knowledge. Deep-sea researcher Antje Boetius drew attention to the living world in the depths of the sea, just as "Retour Natur" this time focuses on animals and endangered biodiversity. On the occasion of the festival, three more videos of events will be released for the digital stage: "The Garbage Complex", "New Building Culture" and "The Great Transformation".