ROBOTA

by Ella Road

adapted from “Rossum’s Universal Robots” by Karel Čapek

Welcome

Welcome to the Schwarzman Centre's new theatre, a home for theatre lovers of all kinds, and a place where artists, researchers and audiences come together to create and experience adventurous new work.

When we read Karel Čapek's extraordinary Rossum’s Universal Robots (R.U.R.), we were immediately curious to see how his one-hundred-year-old vision of our world could hold a mirror to us now, shining fresh light on the challenges AI is presenting us today.

Throughout this process we've connected with researchers and thinkers immersed in the technological leaps creating seismic change across our societies. But as storytellers, collaborating with Ella Road, Roy Alexander Weise and the brilliant company of ROBOTA in the gloriously low-fi chaos that is the rehearsal room, we're reminded again and again of the unique power of human creativity to imagine futures together and to ask profound questions about the ethical and human consequences of innovation.

This collaboration captures exactly what we hope this new theatre can be: a place where artists, researchers and audiences come together to explore the ideas shaping our world through live performance.

Thanks to everyone who has helped bring this bold collaboration to life - and to you, for joining us on this adventure.

We hope you enjoy the performance, continue the conversation, and that this is just the beginning of many more adventures together.

Holly Race Roughan and Lisa Maguire
Headlong

John Fulljames and Josie Bamford
Schwarzman Centre Cultural Programme

Key Information 

Age Guidance: 12+

Content Warning: Contains strong language and scenes of a sexual nature

Running time: 2 hours and 20 mins (including an interval)

Access shows: BSL Interpreted Saturday 11 July 14:00
Audio Described Saturday 18 July 14:00
Captioned Saturday 18 July 14:00

Co produced by Headlong and the Schwarzman Centre

Key artwork: Studio Doug

Rehearsal & production photography: Helen Murray

ROBOTA event page

Related Events

Drawing out some key themes of the production, and its cultural context, these free events offer a deeper dive into the development of the show and the stories it tells.

These events are free to all ROBOTA ticket holders, but should be booked in advance.

Cast

Creative Team

Production

Headlong and The Schwarzman Centre would like to thank Rhashan Stone for first introducing us to the play, and the actors and academics who have contributed to the research and development of this play: Leah Harvey, Ivanno Jeremiah, Philip Arditti, Alby Baldwin, Aminita Francis, Tia Bannon, Norah Lopez Holden, Oliver Johnstone, Sophie Melville, Lloyd Hutchinson, Julia Crammer, Dr Mona Simion, Professor Emma Smith, Dr Rajendra Chitnis, Dr Štěpán Šimek, Professor Kirsten Shepherd, Dr Martha Swift and Ben Micallef.

Enter the world of ROBOTA

We caught up with writer Ella, director Roy Alexander Weise and designer Loren Elstein to find out more about the design for the show, its eco-credentials and what we can expect when we enter the world of ROBOTA.

Roy: “We are in a really exciting place - experiencing the beautiful thing that happens on new writing projects - the chicken and egg of the script and design. What comes first? In some areas Loren & I have clear ideas and sure offers for the design. In some we are still discovering and still playing.”

As well as designing for a play which is still being written, the team are also creating this world in an entirely new theatrical space. ROBOTA will be the inaugural production in the new Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities in Oxford.

Roy: “It’s exciting to be working on a project launching a theatre space, discovering what it is capable of. We are making choices which are playing with and celebrating the meeting of this project with the space - the newness.”

Loren: “We are making a design that is in conversation with the space. So, for example, backstage might be in full view. Or we might use the existing walls. We want it to feel theatrical and playful.”

Ella: “Yes, we are thinking about how, by not masking the space, we can play with reality and unreality. Here are the objects we’re going to use to make this story for you. Come and play with us. It’s about inviting people in, both to the robot testing lab and also to the game of making a play.”

A new look at R.U.R.

ROBOTA is a new take on R.U.R., a play which was so prescient that its story has been told and re-told many times since.

Roy: “We’re trying to create a version that reckons with that - that many stories have been derived from this story. How do we imagine a new story for the world when all the stories have already been told? What we’re doing interacts poetically with the idea of AI, which can only create from things that already exist in the world. That derivative quality has informed the concept for the design.”

Loren: “Yes, that’s really inspired the visual language we are drawing on. We started from a feel of things being collaged together, different textures and images. That’s sort of how AI works, right? I was taking the idea of something slightly fragmented, but brought back together. We aren’t talking about a world of tin-foil robots! Everything in the space will feel identifiable, and we’ll be using that familiarity to create something new.”

This approach not only chimes beautifully with AI, it’s also very handy for a production aiming at high levels of sustainability! The PassivHaus credentials of the Schwarzman Centre, combined with Loren’s imaginative approach to the set are setting us well on the way to Advanced Theatre Green Book status.

Radical imagination

This production - while rooted in and informed by cutting-edge research from Oxford academics working in AI and robots - will centre and think about what it really means to be human. From sensory elements in the design, to the invitation to audiences to be part of conjuring up this world. 

Roy: “When we’re trying to imagine how we live with new technology, we need to take inventory of the brilliant things that human beings can do. To imagine, to dream, to create new ideas. It’s going to take radical imagination for us to consider how we might live alongside this technology.”

Ella: “What we see in ROBOTA is the humans playing at being human. Trying to teach the robots how to be human. It’s the playground of it all.”

Biographies

About Headlong

We’re Headlong. We make theatre with the power to move.

Big, exhilarating productions that use the unexpected to connect everyone we reach, right across the nation. Whether a work is old or new, there are always different questions we can ask. So, our productions are an invitation: to come and see something in a new way. Join us.

Our previous productions include The House Party, People, Places & Things and Enron.

Collaboration is at our core. In 2024 we began new Associate Partnerships with Oxford Playhouse, Leeds Playhouse, Octagon Theatre Bolton and the University of Oxford’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.

ROBOTA and the GREEN BOOK

ROBOTA, like all Headlong productions, has been created using Theatre Green Book standards. The Theatre Green Book is a framework that provides the industry with a clear roadmap for making theatre more environmentally responsible and reducing carbon emissions. For this production, we are hoping to meet the Advanced Standard for Production.

From the earliest design conversations, Headlong, the Schwarzman Centre and designer Loren Elstein have collaborated to bring sustainability into the creative process.

Many core elements have been sourced from past productions and/or will be reused in future productions. Costumes and props follow the same approach, with most items being hired or sourced from stores. Meeting the Advanced Standard means that at least 75% of the materials used to create the production will have had a previous life, and 80% will be stored or reused once the show comes down.

This work is led by Production Manager Ian Moore for the Production Family alongside the producing teams.

For more information, visit the Theatre Green Book website.

Headlong Origins

Now in its sixth year, Headlong Origins is a professional development programme dedicated to supporting and celebrating emerging theatre directors from across the UK.

Designed to nurture the next generation of creative talent, Origins offers directors an immersive year-long experience within Headlong’s artistic and producing practice. Participants gain insight into the company’s creative processes through mentorship from leading industry professionals, engagement with producing and creative teams, access to rehearsals, workshops and research and development projects, and opportunities to learn from a diverse range of theatre-makers and practitioners.

The programme provides a space for directors to develop their artistic voice, refine their creative vision, and build meaningful connections within the industry. Grounded in practical experience and collaborative learning, Origins supports participants as they take the next steps in their careers and contribute to the future of UK theatre.

Headlong Origins is generously supported by Backstage Trust.

About the Schwarzman Centre

The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities is a stage set for boundless creativity. Under one remarkable roof, academia and culture are breaking a new kind of common ground – bringing seven humanities faculties and research institutes together with world-class libraries, collections, exhibitions, cinema, music, theatre, and performance. Based at the University of Oxford, open to all.

We invite outstanding artists to collaborate with researchers to  develop and create new cultural work.  We are particularly grateful to Dr. Rajendra Chitnis, Associate Professor of Czech and Slovak Studies at the University of Oxford, who has researched and taught Capek’s R.U.R. for many years and has shared his fascination for the play with the creative team.  We are home to the Institute for the Ethics in AI and the Oxford Internet Institute and are grateful to all the researchers from those institutions who have collaborated on this project.

We are proud to be a Passivhaus building.

Schwarzman Centre Team