A new frontier in multimedia science fiction theatre that explores the boundary between humans and non-humans against the backdrop of outer space

<The Employees> is based on the science fiction novel of the same name by Danish author Olga Ravn, which was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2021. Produced by STUDIO theatregallery in Warsaw and directed by Łukasz Twarkowski, one of Europe's most prominent contemporary theatre directors, the production has garnered significant attention. The script was written by Joanna Bednarczyk. This is an audience-participatory work, where audience members are free to move through the space and experience the performance rather than simply watching the stage.

The story takes place in a future where Earth has been destroyed. It unfolds around an experimental project on Spaceship 6000, where humans and humanoid robots work together. In this extreme, enclosed environment, the audience follows fragmentary testimonies in the form of reports left by the crew, confronting fundamental questions about identity, emotion, and consciousness. Philosophical questions such as “Is the brain the same as the mind?” and “Can a ghost exist inside a machine?” provoke profound reflections on human existence.

In the latter half of the story, the crew members slowly begin to reveal repressed emotions and a growing longing for Earth, triggered by contact with mysterious foreign objects. Who is human, and who is the humanoid resembling a human? The performance explores how human consciousness is reflected through external objects, focusing on the uncanny valley effect—the emotional response that arises when encountering beings similar to but distinctly different from humans—to heighten emotional tension. <The Employees> invites audiences to experience familiar sci-fi settings from a fresh perspective, prompting reflection on today’s societal issues. Though set in a distant future, millions of kilometers away from Earth, the story is deeply connected to today’s reality.

It sharply exposes fundamental questions we face today: skepticism about meaningless labor, conflict between human and non-human beings, crisis in relationships, control over emotions, life in a technologized society, and the relationship between humans and nature.