Let’s Play I Am Old and Tired

Yes, we can. - Barack Obama
Sorry, too tired and exhausted. – Slavoj Žižek

The dream to leave society and retreat to a more simple, meaningful life in nature is as old as capitalism itself, prominently narrated in Henry David Thoreau's “Walden” in 1854. And yet in times of climate collapse and a dooming tech fascism it is more seductive than ever: Using several gaming laptops and live direction, Total Refusal and TIB create an immersive film live on stage – a story about escapism and exhaustion, about retreating to digital huts on digital lakes, about growing tired and old, and about the longing for a comfort binge heaven.

For avatars, the main characters in video games, always lead the life of the youthful upstart: they start out as insignificant nobodies and learn to dominate the world. Their steeled bodies usually remain eternally young and motivated, never becoming frail, insecure, or ill. While more and more people in real life lack the strength to expose themselves to the political hopelessness of capitalist realism, their alter egos in digital worlds remain alert and focused – and never lose motivation.

Against the backdrop of a meritocracy in which crisis is the norm, video games become a safe haven, a place of retreat—a delicious, reliable promise of happiness where the need for distraction and adventure is satisfied. A home of the predictable, a comforting immersive refuge—beautiful and yet always fragile.

by and with
Jacob Banigan, Susanna Flock, Johanna Hierzegger, Lorenz Kabas, Robin Klengel, Moke Rudolf-Klengel
Concept and text
Theater im Bahnhof and Total Refusal
Set and live editing
Johanna Hierzegger
Technician and sound design
Moke Rudolf-Klengel
Lighting design
Martin Schneebacher
Modding
RCPisAwesome
Idea
Monika Klengel and Robin Klengel
Direction
Monika Klengel