A theater game in the urban space of Moabit.
Berlin is drying out. A little more every year. Even a few weeks of rain in the summer can’t stop the groundwater level from sinking or the heat from afflicting people in the densely populated streets. What kind of future awaits the city if current strategies aren’t enough to secure the water supply?
In Wenn der Regen kommt the renowned Berlin-based game theatre collective machina eX have developed a fictional, near-future scenario. Thanks to new geoengineering innovations, a dream that humankind has had throughout the ages comes to life: the ability to influence the weather. Equipped with their own smartphones, 30 participants in Moabit become researchers who examine the surroundings for water levels, soil quality, and seepage potential. Somewhere between a city rally, an audio walk, and a theatre performance, they manoeuvre through an urban present that is not (yet) equal to the future, together deciding how everyday reality has to change so that life as usual can continue. And decide together how everyday life needs to change so that normal life can continue.
A smartphone and the messenger Telegram are required
Credit: Paula Reissig
“Another time, it’s a matter of life and death.”
Claudia Reinhard on Tagesspiegel.de
HAU4 – digital stage of HAU hebbel am ufer
Concept: machina eX /// Performance: Astrid Endruweit, Jan Jaroszek, Melody Pasanideh, Michaela Maxi Schulz, Raphael Souza Sá /// Performance (voice): Nils Malten, Magdalena Wiedenhofer /// Text: Clara Ehrenwerth /// Direction: Anton Krause /// Technical management, programming: Lasse Marburg /// Dramaturgy, game design: Sarah Klöfer, Anton Rose /// Interaction design, programming: Sebastian Arnd, Elisa Haubert, Benedikt Kaffai /// Scenography: Barbara Lenartz /// Costumes: Sophie Lichtenberg /// Costume assistance: Anneke Frank /// Sound design: Matthias Millhoff /// Production management: Sina Kießling
Production: machina eX. Coproduktion: HAU Hebbel am Ufer, FFT Düsseldorf. Funded by: Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt, Hauptstadtkulturfonds.