Antigone’s Diary – A Model for Democratic Decision Making in Suburban Stockholm

• ”Antigone has disappeared, but we found her diary. Join us in the search of her traces.” Sophocles’ drama has been transferred to a suburb of Stockholm. Students in a local highschool have recreated the classical tale in their own environment, guided by director Rebecca Forsberg from the RATS Theatre. RATS stands for “Research in Artistic TechnologieS”, a section of the Department of Computer and System Science at Stockholm University. Cellular phones are not prohibited in this theatrical enterprise, on the contrary, they constitute the particular means of communication in this event. Whether you download an app into your own phone or lend a phone from the organizers – what you will hear are the fragments of Antigone’s diary. You will find sculptures, parks, kiosks and other places through the GPS and every time you come close to the next site of performance, your phone knows when you are there. And every time you leave the place, Antigone will ask you a question: “What makes you angry?” – “When can one break the rules?” Etc. You can answer the questions by means of text messages and once you have done so, you can see what other participants have answered before you. How does it end? Haimon, Antigone’s friend and lover, whispers into your ear: “What does freedom mean to you?” It is up to us, the participants, to find appropriate responses to this eternal question. This theatrical event, highly technified and reversing the relationship between agents and beholders, gives rise to a number of intricate questions. The problems at stake concern the creative process of this mobile drama, the technical challenges to make it work, the theoretical implications of this multimedia performance, and, finally, the outcome in terms of civic engagement and its potentials of public decision making.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Data- och informationsvetenskap -- Systemvetenskap, informationssystem och informatik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Computer and Information Sciences -- Information Systems (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Teatervetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Performing Art Studies (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Rats theatre

Antigone

immersice participation

e-government

data- och systemvetenskap

Computer and Systems Sciences

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)