‘Do Robots Have Emotions?’ and ‘Love’s underworld’ presented at Our Festival   

Date: September 1, 2022 - September 1, 2022
Location: Greece

Two performers with leopard print clothes embrace tenderly

On Thursday, September 1, the projects “Do Robots Have Emotions?” by Manolis Saridakis, and “Love’s underworld” by Stavros Zafeiris are landed at the Evripideion Theater of Rematia in Chalandri, Attica.

These two new works are Europe Beyond Access commissions through our partner in Greece, Onassis STEGI.

Do Robots Have Emotions?

Manolis Saridakis touches upon the remarkably timely topic of robots, weaving critical issues around control, as well as artificial and emotional intelligence alike, into his own struggle for autonomy and freedom of expression. The choreographer himself appears on stage, programming each “robot” to perform – both individually and collectively – a dance of their own. He then transports them into a virtual bar/club setting, where he creates new commands, invoking emotions on-demand. On the dance floor, sipping on their screwdriver cocktails, each robot will tackle the emotion it has been assigned, upending their interrelationships in the process, and leading us into the scene of the climax, in this sci-fi adventure by the programmer and choreographer Manolis Saridakis.

Love’s Underworld

Love as redemption and an existential game that nature plays at our expense. How far can we pull its bonds before they start hurting us? What are its boundaries and rules? Who are the rulers and the dominated? How do toxic feelings triggered by unmet needs travel through our body with tiny hints, gestures, and signals, until they reach the most unlikely recipients? What is the name of this underworld we create and into which we repress our small or large frustrations?

“Our Festival” was created by the collective cultural group “Emeis [WE]” and aims to realize long-lasting cultural partnerships with artists and institutions in Greece and abroad. In collaboration with Liminal, the festival is committed to accessibility in all of its actions, as well as supporting events conceived by disabled artists.