The dance theater Garden draws on the century-old classic R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots), which was the play that first coined the word “robot.” At a time when artificial intelligence is deeply integrated into everyday life, the work shifts its focus from the conventional conflict between humans and machines to questions about emotion and the value of life. Following the threads of experiments in artificial life, factory discipline, and collective awakening, it tells the story of how an accidental embrace awakens perception in a bionic being, which in turn challenges the status quo. Using multimedia, a minimalist industrial style, and natural imagery on stage, contrasting between a cold assembly line with a moonlit sea of flowers, in the collision between technology and life, the work asks what genuine emotion is and explores the deep connections among perception, empathy and life itself.
