Uncanny Valley

What is human? What is machine? ‘Uncanny Valley’ is the unease we feel when we see something that looks almost real…

In Rimini Protokoll Company’s UK premiere, author Thomas Melle sits on stage. But this is not him. This is an almost perfect animatronic copy of his appearance, gestures and voice with 32 motors controlling each movement and a gentle hum underscoring the monologue. Interrogating the relationship between human originals and robotic copies in response to Melle’s own experiences of bipolar disorder, ‘Uncanny Valley” explores the questions: Does the original get to know himself better through his electronic double? Do the copy and his original compete or do they help each other? And what does it mean for the original when the copy takes over…?