[EOL]. End Of Life

What do abandoned virtual worlds feel like? How much life remains in the digital reconstruction of a deceased person? Who am ‘I’ in the presence of the absent and who chooses what will no longer have a place in the future, corporate-controlled Metaverse? Building on themes explored in the 2021 hyperlink installation 404-TOTLINK created for Germany’s Impulse Theater Festival, [EOL]. End of Life offers a look into a not-so-distant future through the lens of a Meta Quest 3 virtual reality headset.

The audience steps into the role of an ‘outsourced freelancer’ for the fictional multibillion-dollar corporation Imaginary Reality Landscapes (IRL). As freelancers, they must decide which abandoned worlds still deserve to exist in the virtual utopias of tomorrow’s metaverse– and which should be permanently erased. [EOL]. End of Life confronts these virtual travelers with a range of walkable, 3D environments, each containing remnants of their human creators. In this slowly decaying Metaverse 1.0, now disconnected from the online servers, the digital echoes of past existences persist, along with the question of how we will one day be remembered and how we want to be remembered.

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CREDITS

Director and Story: Victoria Halper & Kai Krösche (DARUM)

Featuring Victoria Halper, Kai Krösche, James Stanson

3D-Design, virtual set design: Mark Surges

Music: Arthur Fussy

Live stage design: Matthias Krische

Character Design & Animation, Costume Design, Photogrammetry Scanning, Motion Capturing and Videos: Victoria Halper

3D Object Animation: Kai Krosche, Mark Surges

Creative Coding, Motion Capturing, Lighting Design & additional Sound Design: Kai Krösche

Drawings (School): Alexander Tingrui Wülferth

Testing & Artistic Feedback: David Rosenberg, Matthias Krische, Matthias Seier, Flori Gugger, Arthur Fussy, Armin Kirchner

Special Thanks: James Stanson

Team Touring & 11/25 Remount: Haiko Pfost (International Distribution/Production), Armin Kirchner (Tour Management/Production), David Rosenberg (Assistant artistic direction/Onboarding), Verena Jochum (Production Assistant/Onboarding)

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"Content Warnings

This production includes flashing and strobing lights, loud noise and music. It addresses themes of death, severe illness, natural disaster and suicide.

Experiencing [EOL]. End of Life requires the use of immersive VR headsets for the majority of the performance. Participating in End of Life will be prohibited for participants who may be pregnant or who have medical devices that may be disrupted by radio waves, as well as for anyone who suffers from epilepsy, balance problems, psychiatric disorders, claustrophobia, extreme fatigue, migraines, contagious / severe illness, is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or who currently has an injury/infection to the eyes, skin or scalp. Headsets are cleaned and disinfected by staff after each use. People who regularly wear glasses are encouraged to wear them while using the VR headset but contact lenses are preferable.

[EOL]. End of Life will require participants to stand and walk for the duration of the performance in a relatively small space. The focus of the VR performance is exploring the virtual landscape. You will not encounter any jump scares. The movement area is confined by the VR headset. Safety mechanisms within the experience visualize the boundaries of the safe zone and alert the audience with an acoustic signal when leaving this zone. Wear flat footwear, if possible, to ensure good balance and direct contact with the ground. You will be asked to sign a terms of use release on site before starting the production. Visitors are advised to handle the provided technology with due care.

[EOL]. End of Life has been developed to minimize the occurrence of “motion sickness” as much as possible. Special care has been taken to ensure that, with few and deliberately considerate exceptions, movement within the virtual reality world aligns with movements in the real world. Should you experience motion sickness symptoms or any other discomfort while attending End of Life, please signal immediately by raising your hand. On-site staff will assist in removing the headset. Seating and drinking water will be provided.

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Victoria Halper & Kai Krösche are DARUM, a Vienna-based artist duo working across time-based installation, virtual environments, moving image, sound and performance. Combining formal precision with emotionally charged experiences, their works explore the systems that shape what we perceive as real, how we remember and how we relate to one another. Political, historical and technological questions often form the duo’s creative starting point, emerging through encounters that are intimate, unsettling and difficult to resolve. DARUM develops works for theatre, festival and exhibition contexts internationally. Halper & Krösche have received two NESTROY Awards, Austria’s leading theatre prize, and were given the Outstanding Artist Award from the Austrian federal government in 2025. [EOL]. END OF LIFE was selected for the 2025 Berliner Theatertreffen and presented at the Gropius Bau. In the United States, DARUM’s work has been presented at the Seattle International Film Festival and Brooklyn Film Festival.

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ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

Under the Radar brings bold, risk-taking artistry to New York City in a celebration of  groundbreaking theater and performance with companies from around the world and from just down the street. Produced in collaboration with dozens of venues at a selection of historic and emerging theaters, the festival showcases innovative multidisciplinary artists whose work speaks powerfully to the present moment. Under the Radar’s Founding Director is Mark Russell; UTR’s Co-Creative Directors are Jenn Kidwell and Janet Wong; and the exclusive Festival Producer is ArKtype, led by Thomas O. Kriegsmann and [Rah] Bellin. Find out more at utrfest.org.

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