Kate Atwell: Big Data

Translated from English by Ignas BEITSAS. In a world of data where every step we take can be recorded, preserved and analysed, do we still have the right to be forgotten? What would we sacrifice in exchange for security, control and freedom from technology? Drawing on the play “Big Data” by British playwright Kate Attwell, director Augustas Gornatkevičius invites us to consider a contemporary version of the Faust myth. Here, the deal with the devil takes a new form: mass media, the market and algorithms replace Mephistopheles, and people become not only consumers of technology but also raw material, as their personal data is constantly collected, analysed and sold to businesses.

At the centre of the performance is one of many families: a brother and sister, their partners and their parents. A stranger, M, quietly enters their lives, soon becoming a family friend and confidant to whom the characters can open up and from whom they can receive support and understanding. Through family relationships, especially those between parents and children, the experiences of different generations, their misunderstandings and their attempts to preserve closeness in a rapidly changing reality governed by digital trends come to light.

The right to be forgotten also plays an important role in the work: the possibility of letting go of the past, preserving personal space and not being constantly defined by one’s digital footprint. “Big Data” invites us to rethink the relationship between contemporary people and time. Data collection and algorithmic predictions are penetrating ever more deeply into personal space, relationships and memories, turning even life’s most intimate experiences into measurable, observable information. The accelerating pace of life pushes out silence, rituals and the chance simply to be. In the digital world, it is increasingly difficult to listen to ourselves and experience time not as an endless sequence of events, but as meaningful presence with another person. Can we still stop, remember and experience the moment, rather than merely react to an endless stream of external stimuli?