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You and A.I. (2025)

A theater-game of the group Binge Culture, imported and restaged by machina eX

The theater game You and A.I. explores the possibilities of co-determination in digital systems. Guided by their smartphones, players embark on a journey through the city. The goal is to train artificial intelligence to become more human. Along the way, they solve puzzles, collect data, and get closer and closer to the control center of a voracious learning machine. Ultimately, they must decide whether they want to become part of the machine or fight against it.

You and A.I. was developed by the New Zealand group Binge Culture and premiered in Wellington in 2021. Now, the FFT is presenting the German premiere in a new production by machina eX. With their collaboration, the two groups aim to present their games to audiences on the other side of the planet—without traveling a single mile.

Premiere / Venues

German premiere in March 2025 at FFT Düsseldorf

Two people stand in front of a wall with a wired doll.
Two people stand in front of a man with a mustache who is talking on the phone.
Two people stand in front of a desk with many screens and a company logo.
A person enters a rancid-looking house entrance.
A smartphone lies on a stack of books in a library.
A smartphone with an abstract image of an embryo.
A smartphone shows a man with a lanyard and mustache.
Two people sit in front of a screen with headphones.
Two people are looking at their smartphones, one is holding his in the air.
A wired doll.

Credit: Christian Knieps

Performance: Nurettin Akar, Ivo Schneider, Elisabeth Sterzer /// Performance (Video): Hannah Kelly, Ralph Upton /// Voiceover: Nora Decker, Jan Jaroszek /// Artistic Direction: Clara Ehrenwerth /// Technical Direction: Lasse Marburg /// Scenography and Costumes: Dilara Göksügür /// Sound Design: Matthias Millhoff /// Assistance of Production: Feyza Oktay /// Production Management: Sina Kießling /// Translation: Jana Grohnert

Original Concept by Joel Baxendale (Direction), Ralph Upton (Dramaturgy), Oliver Devlin (Sound Design), Ian Shepherd (App-Development), Lucas Neal (Performance Design), Liam Dakin (Graphic Design), Joe ‘Digl’ Dixon (Videography), Pauline Ward (Production Management) and Eleanor Strathern (Production)

Production: machina eX, FFT Düsseldorf. Funded By the Internationalen Koproduktionsfonds of the Goethe-Institut, the NRW KULTURsekretariat, the Ministry of Culture and Science NRW and the Goethe-Institut New Zealand. Die original production was funded by Creative New Zealand, the Wellington City Council, and CubaDupa.