Foto: Falczyk/Herschel

The fear of being replaceable has haunted modern man since time began. Being confronted with the possibility of our own replaceability fundamentally unsettles our sense of self as individuals. Current developments in AI and automation are reinforcing this deeply rooted fear on an unprecedented scale. Its unforeseeable consequences are becoming an existential threat.

For millennia, theater has taught us: Everyone is replaceable. Anyone can play any role. Any role can be recast. The “Theater of Replaceability” renews this ancient principle with contemporary techniques of imitation: With the help of AI, the voice of every audience member is cloned. A speech synthesis program learns to imitate the sound of their voices almost perfectly in just a few minutes. During the performance, audience members encounter their own automated voices and observe their actions and dialogues.

The “Theater of Replaceability” enables audience members to confront their own replaceability. It allows them to adopt unprecedented perspectives on themselves and others. Experiencing one’s own replaceability becomes a liberation from the boundaries of the self. Making oneself replaceable becomes a prerequisite for new forms of relationships among us humans. The “Theater of Replaceability” becomes a learning play for the 21st century.

Each performance is 90 minutes long and has space for five participants.


Dates

06./07.11.26 Literaturforum at the Brecht-Haus
19. – 22.11.26 Vierte Welt Berlin


Credits

Concept, Text & Direction: Felix Falczyk and Johanna Herschel
Sound & Technology: Leon Goltermann

A production by Felix Falczyk and Johanna Herschel in cooperation with the Literaturforum at the Brecht-Haus and Vierte Welt. Funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion of the State of Berlin. With the kind support of the residency program at schloss bröllin e.V. Excerpts from Bertolt Brecht’s DAS BADENER LEHRSTÜCK VOM EINVERSTÄNDNIS were used with the kind permission of Suhrkamp GmbH, Berlin.