"Against", photo: Yoshiko Kusano
"It's more morbid than Orwell!" is the warning that advertises this Polish-Swiss theatre project, which rebels against censorship on the Internet and surveillance. The show is another co-production between the Teatr Polski in Bydgoszcz and the Schlachthaus Theater in Bern
The authors, Polish playwright Paweł Sztarbowski and Swiss director Nils Torpus, took their theme from INDECT, an intelligent system created for the support of observing citizens, which is created in cooperation between a network of international organisations, universities and research centres. The artists state:
We want to show that the situation seems to be much more terrible that the one depicted by Orwell decades ago. The difference is that the Big Brother has been replaced by a Small Brother, in the form of the presence of cameras, drones, movement detectors, and most importantly – the observation of the activity of all internet users. Each cell phone is potential tool for tracking. A situation as trivial as ordering pizza by phone, or even a simple conversation can become suspect and seen as potentially threatening.
"Against", photo: Yoshiko Kusano
The text is a compilation of fragments found or stolen from the Internet, and the backdrop for events in this documentary play are the recent Occupy Wall Street and anti-ACTA protests. The artist’s statement reads:
In reality we don’t really know who is observing us, when and what for, or why information and data is being gathered about us both in the real and in the virtual world. The limit between the privat and the public has almost ceased to exist. In the name of a proclaimed safety we consent to life in a contemporary form of a concentration camp, where any of our activity can be localised and submit to control, most often without our knowledge or agreement.
Mini-lectures by Volker Birk from the Chaos Computer Club also form part of the perfomance. The Club is devoted the issues of safety in the internet.
The Teatr Polski from Bydgosz has cooperated with Schlachthaus Theater since 2011. The collaboration began with a staging of V (F) ICD-10 Transformacje directed by Paweł Łysak. The Swiss theatre bases its repertoire on co-productions with international independent theatres.
The project is realised as part of the Cooperation 2012-2013. Switzerland – Central and Eastern Europe project ran by the Swiss Pro Helvetia organisation.
The performance casts Volker Birk, Gina Gurtner, Michał Jarmicki, Aleksandra Pisula and Giulin Stäubli.
A preview showing in Bern at the Schlachthaus Theater takes place on the 24th of May, with a showing in Bydgoszcz scheduled for the 21st of September.
Editor: Anna Legierska, translated by Paulina Schlosser, 22.05.2013