"WoW-Word on Wirecard": world premiere with a wow effect
Is Jan Marsalek in Munich? At least as long as the performances of the world premiere play "WoW - Word on Wirecard" are running. Because the submerged Wirecard sales director appears here as a deepfake on screens and invites the audience into Lukasz Twarkowski's artificially created reality. His production of the German financial thriller was celebrated with minutes of applause at the Münchner Kammerspiele on Sunday evening.
The plot begins 36 hours before the collapse of the fintech company - but time is mutable in this play. The Wirecard collapse story provides the background to the presentation of an idea of artificially created reality: a fictitious research institute has succeeded in simulating the world almost perfectly - with the help of algorithms and data, uncertainty can be transformed into security, according to the play. The aim is to predict how companies and even societies could react in the future.
Author and dramaturge Anka Herbut tells several stories on different levels. Using film and theater, we follow the main character Hall Stiller (Elias Krischke) on his sometimes psychotic trip through simulated realities until he doubts his own existence.
"The reactions I've received are often questioning, overwhelmed. I believe that there is an extreme need for exchange after this evening to talk about what has been experienced," dramaturge Caroline Schlockwerder told the German Press Agency on Sunday. The play is more than a social critique, she emphasized.
The audience can decide how much they want to immerse themselves physically, intellectually and visually in the action. With strobe lights, techno music and a bit of oldie charm, a world full of questions is opened up. There is one question above all: which perception can I actually trust?
In this thought-provoking production, the virtual character of Jan Marsalek from Wirecard is displayed through movie-like screens during the theater performance. Despite being a deepfake, Marsalek's presence adds an intriguing layer to the audience's experience.
Reflecting on the innovative production, some viewers might find themselves considering how a fictional movie could potentially mirror the future of society, similar to the portrayal of simulated realities in the play.
Source: www.dpa.com
