Digidays - Theatre Chur

At the so-called Digi Days, various works will be shown that utilise digitality as an artistic strategy. The focus is not only on the mediation of new experiential and narrative spaces created through the use of technology in theatre, but also sheds light on the changed working methods of theatre makers in the digital age. In an all-round performance in the theatre - and beyond - people can come together and exchange ideas.

During the four-day event, a total of five productions will be available to the public directly at the Chur Theatre or via its digital channels from 10 March. There will also be three workshops, the documentary film "Regie: KI" including an installation in the side foyer and the discussion format "Artisttalk". This discussion about digitality and theatre will take place tomorrow, 9 March at 6 pm in front of an audience in the theatre bar, but can also be followed via livestream.

I am (VR)

For the "Digi Days", Susanne Kennedy's virtual reality installation "I am (VR)" was co-produced by two "co-networkers": the Münchner Kammerspiele and the Volkstheater Wien. Digital dramaturge Regenass calls Kennedy "one of the most sought-after directors ever". "I am", which can be experienced in the guest room under the theatre roof using VR glasses, is a kind of theatrical meditation on the one hand and a good example of new forms of theatre on the other. The audience participates in the action and can even influence its course. "The way the story is told reacts to our participation."

Research and experiment

For theatre director Roman Weishaupt, digital and analogue theatre formats are by no means contradictory. "In both cases, it's about encounters and dialogue," he says. The coronavirus crisis has noticeably accelerated digitalisation in everyday life. As theatre always reflects the reality of life, the expansion of the analogue space towards virtual reality is logical for Weishaupt. And so is an examination of it. Digital formats are creating new narrative styles; theatre is the perfect place to explore these and experiment with new forms.

Weishaupt's efforts to make creative use of the months-long closure of the theatre during the pandemic show just how much importance he attaches to digitality in theatre operations. A transformation project supported by the federal government and the canton has given the Chur theatre a new - albeit temporary - position, which Yves Regenass now fills: the position of digital dramaturge. Weishaupt is proud to point out that Theater Chur joined the transnational digital theatre network in spring 2021 - the first Swiss theatre to do so. We have talked about it reports.

You can find more information about the event here: https://www.theaterchur.ch/digidays