Homo Novus / Remote Riga

International Festival of Contemporary Theatre "Homo Novus" / September 1 - 9, 2017 / Riga

Performance "Remote Riga"

Idea and direction: Stefan Kaegi, Jörg Karrenbauer / Rimini Protokoll

Performances in English on September 4, 8 at 15:30

Performances in Latvian on September 2,3,4,6 at 15:30 and 19:00 and September 7.,8.,9 at 19:00

Riga city, starting point - Matīsa Cemetery (Vietalvas street entrance near bus stop "Matīsa kapi")

1h45min

Tickets 10 EUR and 7 EUR (reduced price for students, seniors, people with disabilities)

This is a walking performance that includes physical activity. Not suitable for people with walking difficulties.

Thousands of people who have never met in the real world swarm out on virtual treasure hunts when playing online games. “Remote Riga” is a staging of such a game in the real city where spectators become both the protagonists and the gamers. 
With the headphones on we let ourselves to be guided from a remote perspective by a synthetic voice familiar from GPS navigators or airport announcements. Our minds and decision making mechanisms are slowly replaced by artificial intelligence, the city around us gradually turns into a personal film.

 And yet the voice sounds ever more human to us as we progress, while in the eyes of passers-by our remotely controlled horde starts to look like a kind of alien entity.
How are joint decisions made? Are we all hearing the same words? As dozens of individuals observe each other the swarm breaks down into ever-smaller units, before re-forming as a collective in which decisions are ultimately taken individually. 
Performance is rewritten and adapted for each particular city where it’s presented.

homonovus.lv/eng/programme?s=remoteriga

The International Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus is the leading performing arts festival in Latvia and one of the biggest in the Baltic region. It takes place in Riga and introduces audiences to both new and renowned artists that seek ways of expressing their views and opinions about the world and the society. Festival offers a range of performances as well as seminars, workshops and other activities.