Roman & ELIZA: The Digital Afterlife

What if a loved one continues to exist digitally after passing away? "Roman & ELIZA" tells the true story of Roman Mazurenko, whose friends uploaded their WhatsApp conversations into a chatbot after his death. While they find comfort in his digital presence, his family grapples with this haunting figure. This visually poetic musical performance explores the impact of AI on mourning and memory. In collaboration with Utrecht University and IDLab, it offers an innovative and thought-provoking theater experience—touching, confronting, and at times surprisingly light-hearted. Can technology bring back a loved one? What if a deepfake version of someone who has passed away keeps speaking to us? "Roman & ELIZA" brings the poignant true story of Roman Mazurenko to life, pushing boundaries in how we process grief through technology. Inspired by the first chatbot ELIZA and the emergence of griefbots and death-tech, Ulrike Quade investigates how AI alters our mourning process. Can we truly find comfort in AI-generated memories? How does technology reshape our goodbyes? Through a mix of theater, technology, and personal narratives, this layered theater experience will both touch and stimulate audiences, demonstrating that even the search for death can elicit a smile.