Chatbot Challenge

Interrobang

Chatbots are theatrical machines: they engage in lively dialogues, take on roles, and display and evoke emotions. In “Chatbot Challenge”, two performers and a creative coder share the stage with chatbots and other AI systems. They explore the question: How much theater is in AI, and how much AI-theater have we already internalized? Starting from the core situation of theater – a live performance in front of an audience – the piece becomes an intimate encounter with global AI systems, their potential, and their strategies of deception. What happens when AI systems gain access to video, sound, stage, lighting, the bodies of the performers, and the reactions of the audience? Are chatbots the better performers? And how much work goes into their roles?

approx. 90 mins.

Artists/Collaborators: Lea Goebel (Dramaturgie), Anna Krauß (Dramaturgie), Lara Domke (Mitarbeit Dramaturgie), Manus Nijhoff (Creative Coding), Florian Fischer (Creative Coding), Theresa Reiwer (Bühnenbild und Video), Alexandre Silveira (Video), Birke van Maartens (Kostüm), Friedrich Greiling (Musik), Jürgen Fehrmann (Grafik), Julia Elger (Grafik), Dirk Lutz (Technische Leitung und Lichtdesign), ehrliche arbeit (Produktionsleitung), Sandra Klöss (Produktionsleitung), Jack Willenbacher (Company Management & Kommunikation), Jack Willenbacher (Social Media), Selma Böhmelmann (Social Media), Tina Ebert (Öffentlichkeitsarbeit), Interrobang (Konzept), Till Müller-Klug (Stückentwicklung), Christiane Kühl (Stückentwicklung), Nina Tecklenburg und Team (Stückentwicklung), Christiane Kühl (Performance), Nina Tecklenburg (Performance), Lara Domke (Performance), Künstliche Intelligenzen (Performance)

This performance features rapid image changes and strobe-like effects. It addresses discriminatory stereotypes such as sexism, racism and ableism, which can be reproduced using AI technology. As the AI is used live during the performance, the exact course of events is unpredictable. Discriminatory representations are spontaneously commented on by the performers. There are short scenes with audience interaction in which a photo of the audience is taken, projected and modified by the AI. All personal data is deleted after the performance.

Next date:

• Date Saturday, 09/May/2026 19:00 (3 more dates)
• Venue Hebbel am Ufer - HAU2
• Address Hallesches Ufer 32, 10963 Berlin-Kreuzberg