“Welcome to Remote Berlin. My name is Rachel. I sound a bit artificial, sorry. I am not human, but I will try to be your friend. I’m programmed for you. I’m programmed so that you will always find your way.” So begins Remote Berlin, the first installment of German theatre group Rimini Protokoll’s Remote X. The robotic voice — played through the headphones distributed — begins issuing commands and, without thinking, the audience follows. This opening statement sets the tone for the entire production, where audience members eventually become servants to the artificial intelligence initially built to aid us. The production explores this dependence on technology, and its impact on our interactions with each other. Rimini Protokoll posits that this reliance on technology is a learned dependence, borne out of a desire for guidance. Yet it is one that ultimately results in the depersonalization of the individual in favour of the “us versus them” mentality prevalent on the Internet today...