“(S)He is not” is an original Digital Theatrical Performance in which material derived from the use of Artificial Intelligence is used, in real time during the performance, through its conversation with the performer. Through this condition, the show explores the psyche and the complexity of the experiences that the modern subject experiences in a posthuman era, where man is directly and indirectly connected to technology. The show is based on Beckett’s play Krapp’s Last Tape, in which the dramatic persona retrieves memories of his life through a tape recording of his voice in an attempt to get in touch with “who he was”, but and with “who is”.

In the performance (S)He is not, the young Krapp finds himself in a closed unspecified space in the modern era. AI, and in particular ChatGPT, enables him to ask questions, submit his thoughts and receive answers, in the form of a dialogue, through which he can “meet” his past to (determine) his “identity”. ChatGPT has the ability to evolve very quickly so that by the end of the performance Krapp’s digital persona will have been formed and completed, using multimedia – projections that visualise the digital performer with voice and image. Through this dialogue with the digital Krapp, and the automated solutions it offers, the Beckettian universe and the events of life, the experiences, fears, desires and thoughts of the new Krapp are expanded, acquiring new dimensions regarding the human condition and action.

The fact that ChatGPT has the role of a digital performer in the show is something that is happening for the first time. Our artistic team does not use technology – see https://www.visus.ai for applications and plug ins – as simply a modern medium but utilises it as a dramatic and scenic tool to “reveal” deeper existential aspects and ramifications of Beckett’s work in the 21st century. The dialogue that develops between the embodied performer Krapp and ChatGPT has a double aim: it explores the “symbiotic” relationship between the human being and technology on the one hand, and between analogue and digital actor on the other. Therefore, the utilisation in the performance of ChatGPT is a dramaturgically necessary element, organically (connected) to the performance event.

The staging and aesthetics of the show are modern, with a non-linear narrative and intense physical performance. The events develop with the well-known Beckettian stage irony, sarcasm and humour, while they are broken by unexpected actions of existential impasse. Thus, the man/body that comes face to face with his digital “idol”, his psyche, thought and action, is presented, towards an open and unexpected end.

The dramaturgy of the performance draws material a) from various Beckett texts (theatrical and non-theatrical) and b) from the data obtained from ChatGPT and in direct relation to the Beckett’s work. The goal is to create an original synthetic fiction, where the existential questions as well as the scenic boundaries are (dis)turbed and explored. Through this multi-dimensional, literally, experience the viewer has the opportunity to delve into the modern human condition and condition and also to experience an original multi-sensory theatrical performance, which challenges both the limits of existence and performance art.