Image: Joost de Haas

Roman & ELIZA

A digital tragedy

Performance information

Premiere 20th March 2026, CC Amstel
Duration of performance: 75 minutes
Language: Dutch

“How will you miss me when I’m gone?” Roman & ELIZA explores technology as a tool for grief, challenging us to think about loss and memory.

What remains of a person after death? And what happens when technology steps in to fill the void left behind? In Roman & ELIZA, Ulrike Quade Company explores how artificial intelligence taps into our deep-seated desire for human connection.

The performance is inspired by the world’s first chatbot, ELIZA, and the true story of Roman Mazurenko. After Roman’s death, his partner Charly uploads messages and photos to ELIZA, using AI to create an avatar of Roman and seemingly reconnect with him. What follows is a charged interplay between a grieving lover and Roman’s shadow, trapped in a data center, suspended between being and non-being. Together they reconstruct memories to discover what has them both haunted.

Agenda

Engelse ondertiteling bij de voorstellingen op 10 april in Utrecht, 16 mei in Den Haag en 29 en 30 mei in Amsterdam

Deep dive into human-chatbot interaction

At a time when digital platforms are enabling ever new forms of synthetic intimacy, Roman & ELIZA poses urgent questions about the future of our data. Humans yearn to feel understood, even at the expense of real understanding. Roman & ELIZA visualizes how this longing takes shape in human-chatbot interaction by descending into the illusory world of digitally manipulated data. Told by the ghost, the lover, and the machine, Roman & ELIZA is a journey through the many fragmented dimensions that give life to our deepest desires.

Combining experimental scenography, puppetry, and advanced technologies, Ulrike Quade Company creates vivid worlds that imagine potential futures. Their work makes abstract innovations tangible and invites the audience to experience how technology is reshaping the very fabric of our existence.

In collaboration with the Horizon Europe Premiere project and IDLab (AHK). Within the project, it developed the AI Toolbox and the 3D Virtual Theatre, which combine live data, XR technologies, and digital puppetry. Premiere Grant Agreement ID: 101061303 – Funded by the European Union.

‘By bringing together science, technology and art, we are creating a powerful space for innovation – one that challenges societal norms and opens new perspectives on the issues that define our world today.’

– Ulrike Quade

Credits

Concept, direction: Ulrike Quade
Performer: Vanja Rukavina
Digital performer: Hadewych Minis, Anneke Sluiters
Dramaturgy: Maaike Bleeker
Assistant dramaturg: Sorcha Ní Bhraonáin
Assistant director: Anne van Dorp
Text contribution: Maaike Bergstra
Sound design: Farzaneh Nouri
Lighting design: Floriaan Ganzevoort
Costumes: Marlou Breuls
Video content: Anouk Steenbakkers
Photo content: Eddy Wenting
Unreal design: Nathan Marcus
Technical production: Mark Thewessen
Technician: Frank Doornbos, Jornt Jan Bras
Production: Vincent Hoffman

Roman & ELIZA is a production by Ulrike Quade Company. This performance was made with the support of the Municipality of Amsterdam (AFK) and Creative Industries Fund NL.

Roman & ELIZA was developed three phases. Preliminary research in the humanities was conducted in collaboration with Utrecht University/ Dramaturgy for Devices. A pilot was developed in collaboration with IDlab–Amsterdam University of the Arts to research technologies for the EU Horizon project PREMiERE. The pilot was performed in Coliseu do Porto. In this phase, VR content was made by Marijn Eken and Keez Duyves.

With thanks to Laura Karreman, David Gauthier and the students from the Utrecht University Research Master’s in Media Art and Performance Studies: Gitte de Beijer, Iris den Boeft, Wing Ka Chan, Loes van Deursen, Bianca Gotti, Agata Kok, Amber Linders, Samuel van der Loo, Mieke Postma, Aengus Schulte, Nina Verhagen.

Upcoming productions

Image: Joost de Haas

Roman & ELIZA

A digital tragedy

Performance information

Agenda

Deep dive into human-chatbot interaction

‘By bringing together science, technology and art, we are creating a powerful space for innovation – one that challenges societal norms and opens new perspectives on the issues that define our world today.’

– Ulrike Quade

Credits

Made possible by

Foto: Julian Maiwald

Ulrike Quade Company

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