Contemporary dance work confronts perils of digital age

Darkroom Contemporary Dance Theatre will present a new, full-length work by Louise Coetzer, autoplay, from Tuesday September 10 to Saturday September 28.

Staged in a secret location in central Cape Town, patrons are invited into a multi-faceted arena where the performance reimagines itself for every audience. The initial meeting point for patrons will be the fountain on Longkloof Square, within Longkloof Studios in Gardens.

The hybrid work blends dance, live art performance, sound installation and digital art.

“We wanted to create an expressly contemporary experience, set in the heart of the city, that dovetails into our desire to present dance out of traditional spaces,” says Coetzer, co-founder and artistic director of Darkroom Contemporary, and director of autoplay.

“autoplay is a surreal encounter between human and machine. In this immersive performance, we confront traditional notions of identity and autonomy, in an era where our lives have become intricately woven into the fabric of a digital landscape. Through its interaction with Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, this charged game of musical chairs confronts questions of agency, autonomy, influence and the blurred boundaries between free will and manipulation in a digital age.”

“We use absurdity and satire to challenge the acceptance of our present, where others know more about ourselves than we do. By blending traditional and contemporary symbols of learning, autoplay imagines us learning to navigate a brave new world,” says Coetzer.

The performance features a new original score by artists Brydon Bolton (Benguela) and Njabulo Phungula, with vocalist Inge Beckmann (Lark, Beast).

Combining organic and manufactured soundscapes, the score fuses digital and analogue processing.

This production is made possible thanks to the grant from the National Lotteries Commission, The National Arts Council of South Africa, and The Western Cape Government Department of Cultural Affairs & Sport, in partnership with Artscape Theatre and Dance For All SA.

Choreography, direction and set design are by Coetzer. autoplay is performed by Bronwyn Craddock, Darion Adams, Vuyelwa Phota and Gabrielle Fairhead.

There is an age restriction of 13.

autoplay performances are at 8pm, with 4pm shows on Sunday September 22 and Tuesday September 24 and an artist talk and Q&A session on Tuesday September 24.

Tickets cost R250 through Quicket.