“So-Called Humanity in Madness” by K. Garbaczewski / Percepcje. New Forms of Art
“So-Called Humanity in Madness” is one of the most innovative theatrical works in recent Polish theatre – an attempt to reconstruct a lost play by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz using artificial intelligence and immersive technologies.
Directed by Krzysztof Garbaczewski, the production gives voice not only to Witkacy himself but also to the machine – an AI system trained on his literary and philosophical output. The fragmented, mysterious original text was completed by artificial intelligence and adapted for the stage using VR, digital scenography, and character avatars.
The result is a performance that merges theatrical presence with digital abstraction. Reality and simulation constantly intersect: actors coexist with AI-generated environments, while the world of the play – in true Witkacian fashion – teeters between dream, grotesque, and philosophical prophecy.
“So-Called Humanity in Madness” is also an experiment in a new scenic language and a new model of artistic collaboration – international, networked, hybrid. The project is being developed in partnership with artistic teams from Germany and Ukraine, who collaborate in a shared virtual environment. The performance raises urgent questions about storytelling in the age of AI and what it means to create art beyond the limits of physical presence.
It is theatre of the future – deeply rooted in the avant-garde. A tribute to one of Poland’s greatest artistic visionaries, and an attempt to answer the question: who is the “so-called mad humanity” today?
Teatr Stary in Lublin, ul. Jezuicka 18
September 21, 2025, 7:00 PM
Duration: 90 minutes
Free admission – tickets available at:
https://kicket.com/embedded/repertuar/1505?salesChannelId=0192b8ab-4b4d-7a2a-ab7e-f17ff3d3c6b4
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Description
The project involves the creation and staging of a new drama referring to the lost work of Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy) titled. “The So-Called Humanity in Madness” using artificial intelligence (AI). As part of the project, AI will be used to fill in the missing content of the drama, only fragments of which have survived to our time. The project will take place simultaneously in three countries, creating an experimental theatrical form that will combine virtual reality (VR) technology with traditional theater. In addition to the written new text, all of Witkacy’s creative activity will serve as material for the AI machine-learning process to create a virtual world, sets, props, and character avatars.
The ambition of the project is for artificial intelligence to complete the lost manuscript, which is not only a tribute to Witkacy’s legacy, but also an innovative combination of technology and art. The project aims to explore new dimensions of storytelling by combining artificial intelligence-generated content with VR technology, honoring Witkacy’s avant-garde spirit and his fascination with the limits of human creativity and existential inquiry.
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Credits
Concept, director: Krzysztof Garbaczewski
Script, dramaturgy: Rebecca Pierrot
Costume design: Martyna Konieczny
VR design: Radomir Majewski, Maciej Gniady
Music: Kuba Janicki
Avatar design: Marcin Kosakowski
Cast: Agnieszka Judycka-Cappuccino, Antoni Milancej, Björn Lengers, Vladyslav Hrodzitskyi, Volodymyr Mostovyi
Partners: Франківський драмтеатр and CyberRäuber
