About this Event
Prosodia Performance at University Theater Amsterdam
By Nicoline van Harskamp
With Mehrnoush Rahmani, Ayisha Siddiqu and Lidewij Mahler
Original music composition, oud, and vocals by Eleni Mik
English, 70 minutes
A “synthetic” performer named Prosodia, two actresses in the flesh, a theatre director, and a traditional musician set out to stage the Epic of Siri – a vast narrative celebrating the deeds of a woman, still sung today in South India and approaching the Iliad in both scale and antiquity. As they attempt to synchronise and sing together, the characters – human and non-human alike – begin to reflect on the technologies that underpin their practices, namely three generations of performative artificial language: “sung-narration,” “acting,” and “synthetic speech.” Prosodia’s inability to cry becomes a technical and artistic obstacle, since many epics traditionally end in tears. The ensemble eventually discovers a solution in one of her oldest inherent traits.
In Prosodia, primordial patterns of speech resurface within the synthetic voices generated today through artificial intelligence, echoing the rhythmic and formal patterning of human storytelling – from ancient epic poetry to contemporary influencer content. In the process, the work also dispels a number of myths surrounding AI, particularly those propagated by the profit-driven entities that develop it.
Prosodia premiered at the Athens Epidaurus Festival on June 14 2026. With a new original musical score and two new cast members, it will next be staged within the University of Amsterdam on August 25 (on the occasion of the triennial conference of the International Association of Word and Image Studies)and at If I Can’t Dance on August 28. The same version will also be staged at ArtLaboratory in Berlin on October 18.
Prosodia is supported by the Creative Industries Fund.
https://vimeo.com/1214186203
Event venue & nearby stays
Nieuwe Doelenstraat 16, 16 Nieuwe Doelenstraat, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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