The troll is a creature that is not so easy to pin down. Sometimes it plays pranks, sometimes it is known to make bad weather—fortunately, it petrifies as soon as you drag it into the sunlight. But it also roams the internet, spreads memes, causes shitstorms and influences the political climate around the world. Is it possible to defeat online trolls by drawing them out of their caves and into the light?
In “trolllike”, three performers embark on a journey through the idyllic landscapes of Norway and the abysses of the internet. With a good dose of humour, they tackle topics such as trolling, fake news and hate on the web. They navigate through an online 3D archive live, are trolled and troll the audience in an entertaining, energetic performance.
Excerpt from the jury's statement:
“The action unfolds in a digital forest clearing—the main interface for the audience, which poses both a set design and a gateway to the internet. The performers repeatedly lead the audience through this clearing and invite them to share in their research."
With “trolllike”, STERNA | PAU invites audiences on an exploratory journey in search of trolls. But it’s not just about mythological creatures—internet trolls also lurk in the shadows of this initially tranquil campsite. In a mixture of theatrical documentary and mockumentary, the group compares both types of trolls and quickly encounters hate speech and entire troll factories that are always ready for the next shitstorm. The action unfolds in a digital forest clearing—the main interface for the audience, which poses both a set design and a gateway to the internet. The performers repeatedly lead the audience through this clearing and invite them to share in their research—deep down one rabbit hole or another. After experiencing this play with live music, anonymised interviews and imaginative costumes, anyone inspired to keep going down the rabbit hole like a troll is in luck: this research can be continued at home via a specially designed website. It features that familiar forest clearing and offers additional images and videos that illustrate how comprehensively STERNA | PAU has dealt with the topic of trolls.
STERNA │ PAU Produktionen is a theatre and performance network from Bochum and Dortmund. Its artists produce theatre for teens and adults and are constantly trying out new forms of participation—both in the creation process and in performance situations. They also like to work with non-human actors and transport theatre to digital spaces. Its productions focus on questions of coexistence, relationships of all kinds and how these are shaped by technology, the digital world and pop culture.
Production
STERNA | PAU, Bochum and Dortmund
Co-production with FFT Düsseldorf
With: Maren Becker, Laura Pföhler, Hannes Siebert
Director: Jolanda Uhlig
Choreographed by: Yasmin Fahbod
Concept, development: Maren Becker, Yasmin Fahbod, Laura Pföhler, Hannes Siebert, Jolanda Uhlig
Scenery: Christopher Dippert
Costumes: Danel Arft
Music: Maren Becker
Assistant: Lea Deckers
Creative technology: Lisa Passing
Creative producing: Laura Zielinski
Lighting: Julius Kindermann
Sound: Jan Leschinski
Video, LED tech: Björn Nienhuys
Mentoring: Arne Vogelgesang
Performance rights: At the theatre
Sponsored by the conceptual funding programme of the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, by the FREISCHWIMMEN programme of the Federal Association for the Independent Performing Arts and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia as well as by the digital performance programme of NRW Kultursekretariat.
