The digital revolution that’s making our lives easier is full of promise – it’s the end of the decision-making drama. At the same time, the tech euphoria with its unlimited possibilities will ask big questions about being human. Yael Ronen designs a world in which the characters have to confront the challenges of the next evolutionary stage, Homo Digitalis: their own insignificance when billions of people are forced out of the job market by algorithms, symbiotic relationships with artificial intelligence, and virtual realities. Digital dictatorships in which our data becomes a tool in the hands of a few – or the ethical dilemmas that come with the unforeseeable consequences of genetic design. And what does the whole thing actually mean for so-called “free will”? Within this experimental setting, Yuval Noah Harari’s thoughts become the starting point for research that reduces the contradictions of a possible future to absurdity. Are there utopias of living together that we’ve missed forever?

Ilan Ronen was the artistic director of Habima National Theatre from 2004 to 2016, after running two other theatres – The Jerusalem Khan Theatre and The Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv. In the past decade, Ilan has paid considerable attention to the expansion of Habima’s international activity. One of its most important tours was of Ronen’s version of The Merchant of Venice in London’s Globe Theatre during the 2012 International Shakespeare Festival. Ronen’s recent directing credits include A Streetcar Named Desire, The Miser, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and Alone in Berlin.

Yael Ronen, in-house Gorki director, was born in Jerusalem. She comes from a theatre family, and is internationally considered one of the most exciting theatre makers of her generation.

Dimitrij Schaad was born in Kazakhstan. From 2005 to 2009 he studied at the Bavarian Theatre Academy August Everding, and at the Theatre Academy of St. Petersburg. After appearances in Munich and Essen, he was an ensemble member at Bochum Theatre from 2010 to 2013. He has collaborated with directors such as Roger Vontobel, Sebastian Nübling, Jan Klata, and Jan Neumann. In 2011, he was awarded the Bochum Theatre Prize, and was honored at the NRW Theatretreffen Festival as Best Young Actor. From 2013 to 2019, Dimitrij Schaad was a member of the Gorki Theatre’s ensemble.