"Die Maschine steht still"

„Die Maschine steht still“ is a site specific science-fiction theatre based on the story „The Machine Stops“ by British bestselling author E.M. Forster.

The dystopian classic written in 1909 presents a future astonishingly corresponding to our present time. The performance is presented in a contemporary setting. After the opening at the Belval-University station the spectators will be moved within the story to Arbed Schifflange, industrial wasteland.

Humanity depends on machines, the surface of the earth is nearly devastaded, people live isolated in small similar boxes, communicating with each other over video conferencing. They don’t have to move anymore and order every supply through technology. Almost every need is met by omnipotent global machines. Sounds familiar?

With this incredible vision more than 100 years ago, the author anticipated not only the internet but a whole generation: connected and isolated.

The Pandemic reinforced some of these tendencies through social distancing, homeoffice and worldwide lockdowns.

The opening scene is spotting on the life of Vashti, the mother, communicating endlessly through screens with millions of friends. We get to know her son Kuno, a kind of sensual rebel, trying to pursue a different vision of life on the other side of the globe. Finally mother and son manage to meet face to face and end up in a dramatic showdown which questions human existence beyond machines.