In ENDGAME, players are immersed in the chaos of cyberwarfare as they battle a new online right-wing movement.
In ENDGAME, machina eX steps onto the battlefield of a digital civil war. The story centers on a trendy start-up whose goal is nothing less than to defend democracy. The company— part NGO, part private detective agency, part hackers’ collective—is joining the fight against a new right-wing movement that’s growing more powerful thanks to its cutting-edge marketing strategies and increasing numbers of followers.
Depending on the quality of the information they acquire, players can not only identify key individuals, but maybe even weaken the whole movement. Players get support from charismatic team leaders, who have mixed motives for getting involved in the online resistance against the right. At a time when anonymity on social networks is giving rise to new levels of outrageousness, ENDGAME sheds light on the dark zones of the Internet where fierce battles are fought over interpretation, volume, and effective methods of messaging.
From their own desks, the game’s 30 players are tasked with researching background information on potential members of the right-wing movement.
Premiere / Venues
Premiere in November 2017 at the HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin
January 2018 at Gessnerallee Zürich
February 2018 Staatstheater Darmstadt
March 2018 as part of the Ulmer Denkanstöße at the Haus der Museumsgesellschaft Ulm
April 2018 at FFT Düsseldorf
May 2018 at Schauspielhaus Bochum
June 2018 at the Münchner Kammerspielen
September 2018 as part of the HAMBACH! Demokratiefestivals in the Kulturzentrum DasHaus in Ludwigshafen
Credit: machina eX
Westfälischer Anzeiger
“Endgame demonstrates that democracy is something we must fight for. Here everyone is indirectly called on to contribute (…). machina eX creates a space to interact against the new Nazis: a provocation in the digital battle zone.”
Concept: machina eX, Martin Ganteföhr /// Text: Martin Ganteföhr /// Artistic Direction, Direction, Staging: Anan Fries /// Interactive Design and Programming: Philip Steimel, Lasse Marburg, Benedikt Kaffai /// Sound Design: Mathias Prinz /// Dramaturgy: Clara Ehrenwerth /// Light Design and Assistant Staging: Eva G. Alonso /// Technical Assistance: Robin Hädicke /// Costumes: Harm Coordes /// Performance: Rahel Jankowski, Lena Eikenbusch, Christiani Wetter, Yves Regenass, Jan Jaroszek, Martin Schnippa /// Voice Performance: Robert Speidel /// Technical Production Management: Philip Steimel /// Production management: Sina Kießling
Production: machina eX. Coproduction: HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Schauspielhaus Bochum, Münchner Kammerspiele, FFT Düsseldorf, Gessnerallee Zürich, Staatstheater Darmstadt. Funded by:the Capital City Culture Fund of the Berlin Senate Department of Culture and Europe