Real -time age: with dolls and gaming games on stage!

Real -time age: with dolls and gaming games on stage!

The Graz Schauspielhaus brings the captivating work of the Austrian author Tonio Schachinger, "real -time age", to the theater stage. The staging of the novel, which was awarded the German Book Prize, tells the story of the teenager Till, who tries to find its place in a world full of pressure and challenges. Especially after the death of his father, he escapes into the computer game "Age of Empires 2", where he discovers his strengths and even manages to the best players in the world. This connection between virtual and real world forms the heart of the narrative, as krone.at reported.

The stage implementation impresses with numerous creative ideas. The entire stage is designed as a retro computer screen on which the scenes switch between the real and virtual world. Dolls represent the figures from Till's life, while the ensemble, led by Dominik Puhl in the role of the Till, changes through various narrative forms. Although the staging is entertaining, some reviewers criticize that it cannot offer the intensive immersion that one would expect from a computer game. According to steiermark.orf.at , the staging remains on the surface without being able to fully grasp the deeper emotional connections of the novel.

criticism of the staging

The direction of Timon Jansen and the artist: Inner collective F. Wiesel brings the cool and distant atmosphere of the elitist -looking school settings into its own, but misses the attraction of the gaming as a safe escape from reality. The attraction of the carefree that Till finds in the game cannot be made sufficiently noticeable in the theater adaptation. Nevertheless, production shows the potential of the novel and, despite some weaknesses, offers some impressive moments that indicate the effect of art and virtuality.