The audience is invited onto the stage. Everyone can move freely between the large black walls.
It begins in darkness, with small, buzzing round robots entering the stage, glowing like moving particles. Like the beginning of life. Like the beginning of the universe. Each small robot emits different sounds, creating complex and interesting music. It will feel like a moving orchestra of small robots. The robots first move randomly and chaotically, then form circles and organised groups. From this moment on, the robots begin to interact with the people and vice versa. Like a small school of fish, like a group of chickens, or like something completely unknown. A connection is created. What behaviour of moving objects makes them feel alive? How does it feel to be swarmed by these little things?
How the interaction develops then influences the changing music. It's about the asymmetry of technology: we often ask ourselves about our emotions towards technology – but what emotions does technology have towards us?
It's about our future robotic descendants. And our connection to them. The aim is to create a positive image: because when robots are used in the right way, they can be very good for people. But that's exactly what we still need to learn together.
This creates a space centred around empathy, compassion, humanity and technology.
The media art duo Katrin Hochschuh and Adam Donovan work at the intersection of art, science and technology. In their latest research project, ‘Interconnected’, they create participatory robot swarms that can be controlled through human interaction and artificial intelligence. The aim of their work is to bring their technology closer to young and old alike, while questioning dystopian technological fictions.
Kulturforum Witten
In the theatre hall of the Saalbau
Bergerstrasse 25
58452 Witten
Thu, 26th February 2026 / 7:00 pm
Fri, 27th February 2026 / 7:30 pm
Free tickets are available at the box office and can also be reserved online at: https://www.kulturforum-witten.de/de/saalbauhauswitten/veranstaltungen/interconnected/anmeldung/
Interconnected is a project by Hochschuh Donovan GbR in cooperation with Theater Dortmund, the Academy for Theatre und Digitality and Kulturforum Witten. The project is funded by the Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaftlich des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen as part of Neue Künste Ruhr.