British collective premieres robot war play in Narva

British performing arts collective Conscript Theatre will premiere its new production untitled [robot story] in Narva on September 17, ERR reported.

The London-based collective chose Narva as the production’s premiere venue to explore how robots can be discussed at a time when drones and robots are no longer science fiction but everyday tools of warfare.

The story centres on a battle robot that awakens with memories of its creator, a robotics engineer who was in love with a drone operator. The performers tell the story through video, sound, projections, 3D animation, camera work, text and puppetry.

The production grew out of discussions between Ukrainian artist Anastasiia Malnieva and the collective about the boundary between fiction and reality, and how to talk about robots, drones and surveillance systems when they have become present-day instruments of war.

Narva was chosen as the starting point for the production’s journey because questions about war, technology and the boundary between reality and fiction carry a different weight in a city with Russia on the other side of the river. The premiere comes as the technological reality of war is no longer visible to Estonia only on screens, with drones used in the war regularly entering Estonian airspace as a result of Russia’s aggression.

After its Narva premiere, untitled [robot story] will be staged at Genialistide Klubi in Tartu on September 19 before continuing to venues in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe.

Conscript Theatre combines technological art with physical theatre, new dramaturgy and alternative dramaturgical forms.