Robots are coming to conquer the theater stage, and even as protagonists. A robotic actor holds the central role in a play that "suits" him, in Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis", famous for the themes of alienation and the absurd that it deals with.
The choice of the robot is considered a smart choice to highlight alienation in modern technological society, about a century after the writing of "Metamorphosis.".
The Japanese robot created by leading roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University has the lead role in a new theatrical adaptation of the play, directed by Japanese director Oriza Hirata. According to Agence France-Presse, it is a tall android robot with a metal skeleton and a white face with human features.
"Although people react when they see a robot, you can see that they are not moved by it. I wanted to create a situation in which the robot can move an audience," said Oriza Hirata.
In the play written by Franz Kafka in 1915, traveling salesman Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find that he has inexplicably transformed into a disgusting insect, prompting his family to hide him out of shame and disgust. In the Japanese stage adaptation, the large insect is replaced by a robot. Four French actors play the roles of his family.
The theater group prepared the play in the remote city of Kinosaki in western Japan and is set to perform it first in Yokohama and then in Europe, starting with the Normandy autumn festival in France next month.
Actress Irene Jacob praised her robotic co-star's acting skills on stage. She said it's "like he's wearing a white mask... he has a very theatrical quality, sometimes he can smile or even laugh.".
Oriza Hitrata has used robots in theatre before, but this will be the first time it has been done in a language other than Japanese (French). For his part, Hiroshi Ishiguro has created several original robots, including a news anchor, a robotic copy of himself, and a soft-spoken humanoid robot named "Pepper.".
Source: imerisia.gr
