[EOL]. End of Life

What do abandoned virtual worlds feel like? How much life remains in the digital reconstruction of a deceased person? Who am ‘I’ in the presence of the absent and who chooses what will no longer have a place in the future, corporate-controlled Metaverse? Building on themes explored in the 2021 hyperlink installation 404-TOTLINK created for Germany’s Impulse Theater Festival, [EOL]. End of Life offers a look into a not-so-distant future through the lens of a Meta Quest 3 virtual reality headset. 

The audience steps into the role of an ‘outsourced freelancer’ for the fictional multibillion-dollar corporation Imaginary Reality Landscapes (IRL). As freelancers, they must decide which abandoned worlds still deserve to exist in the virtual utopias of tomorrow’s metaverse– and which should be permanently erased. [EOL]. End of Life confronts these virtual travelers with a range of walkable, 3D environments, each containing remnants of their human creators. In this slowly decaying Metaverse 1.0, now disconnected from the online servers, the digital echoes of past existences persist, along with the question of how we will one day be remembered and how we want to be remembered.

This production is recommended for audiences 16 years and older

Duration: 90 minutes, no intermission

Please note that participants experience [EOL]. End of Life as an individual experience. Pairs and groups cannot be admitted together. Each ticket will be for a solo experience and a discrete time slot. Please arrive at least fifteen minutes before your scheduled time slot.

CONTENT WARNINGS
This production includes flashing and strobing lights, loud noise and music. It addresses themes of death, severe illness, natural disaster and suicide.

[EOL]. End of Life is a Virtual Reality Experience. Please note: 

• Participants will need to wear the VR headsets for the majority of the performance. Headsets are cleaned before and after each performance. 

• Participants will need to stand and walk during the performance. On-site staff will be monitoring participants for safety. Participants can sit if needed. 

• Participants with glasses should wear contact lenses if possible. 

• All participants should wear flat shoes. 

• All participants will be required to sign a terms of use release on site before participating.

Participation in [EOL]. End of Life is prohibited for anyone who: 

• Is pregnant

• Has medical devices that may be disrupted by radio waves

• Has epilepsy

• Has balance problems 

• Has a hallucinatory psychiatric disorder 

• Has claustrophobia 

• Suffers from extreme fatigue or migraines 

• Has an injury/infection to the eyes, skin, or scalp 

• Has a contagious or severe illness

• Is under the influence of drugs or alcohol 

Our participants’ safety is paramount. Please note there will be no jump scares, and the experience has been developed to minimize the occurrence of “motion sickness” as much as possible. Please reach out to ticketing@utrfest.org with any questions. 

Victoria Halper & Kai Krösche are DARUM, a Vienna-based artist duo working across time-based installation, virtual environments, moving image, sound and performance. Combining formal precision with emotionally charged experiences, their works explore the systems that shape what  we perceive as real, how we remember and how we relate to one another. Political, historical and technological questions often form the duo’s creative starting point, emerging through encounters that are intimate, unsettling and difficult to resolve. DARUM develops works for theatre, festival and exhibition contexts internationally. Halper & Krösche have received two NESTROY Awards, Austria’s leading theatre prize, and were given the Outstanding Artist Award from the Austrian federal government in 2025. [EOL]. END OF LIFE was selected for the 2025 Berliner Theatertreffen and presented at the Gropius Bau. In the United States, DARUM’s work has been presented at the Seattle International Film Festival and Brooklyn Film Festival.

Director and Story - Victoria Halper & Kai Krösche (DARUM)
Featuring Victoria Halper, Kai Krösche, James Stanson

3D-Design, virtual set design - Mark Surges 

Music - Arthur Fussy 

Live stage design - Matthias Krische 

Character Design & Animation, Costume Design, Photogrammetry Scanning, Motion Capturing and Videos - Victoria Halper 

3D Object Animation - Kai Krosche, Mark Surges 

Creative Coding, Motion Capturing, Lighting Design & additional Sound Design - Kai Krösche 

Drawings (School) - Alexander Tingrui Wülferth 

Testing & Artistic Feedback - David Rosenberg, Matthias Krische, Matthias Seier, Flori Gugger, Arthur Fussy, Armin Kirchner 

Special Thanks - James Stanson 

Team Touring & 11/25 Remount - Haiko Pfost (International Distribution/Production), Armin Kirchner (Tour Management/Production), David Rosenberg (Assistant artistic direction/Onboarding), Verena Jochum (Production Assistant/Onboarding)

Funded by the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Art, Culture, Public Service and Sport. The artistic development of [EOL]. End of Life was supported by a residency at the Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany. A production of DARUM in co-production with brut Wien (Artistic Direction: Kira Kirsch). Featured by the Wiener Festwochen as part of the Prospero New Network.

The Space at Irondale
85 South Oxford Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn

Directions
C train to Lafayette Avenue is just down the block (exit at South Oxford Street, church is halfway up the block on your right).
B, D, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4, or 5 train to Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street, walk north on Hanson place to South Oxford, turn left and the church will be on your right.
G train to Fulton Street, then walk up Lafayette avenue, make a right on South Oxford Street, and church will be on your left.

For any ticketing matters, please contact ticketing@utrfest.org

Presented by Under The Radar in partnership with The Space at Irondale