Frau Ada denkt Unerhörtes

Das Neue Stück Frau Ada denkt Unerhörtes [Ms Ada thinks outrageous things] is about the world's first female programmer, Ada Lovelace. It describes Ada's life in two parts: A biographical but heavily distorted first part, which seems rather dreamlike through its dialogue and cast, and a realistic-looking second part, in which a future is imagined in which one of the machines Ada once invented takes power over humanity.

The set consists of a slightly translucent curtain that divides the stage in the middle. In the first part of the play, the audience sits on the bleachers; for the second part, they change sides of the curtain and find seats on low platforms at the back of the stage.

To represent the dreamlike nature of the first part, only Ada's actress is shown in front of the curtain. The other three actors, who play the characters of the mother and two dolls, are behind the curtain and can only be seen through shadows on it. The play leaves open whether Ada is talking to real people, whether the events really happened, or whether it is all in Ada's head. This blurring of fever dream and reality is articulated by the shadows on the curtain. In order to nevertheless give the audience a sense of the real Ada Lovelace, facts from her life are repeatedly projected onto the curtain.

In the second, very realistic part, where the audience is on the other side of the curtain, the three actors stand on the audience side of the curtain in the roles of three scientists. Ada, now as a robot, stands slightly illuminated behind the curtain and shines dully through the fabric like a dream performance. The moment she awakens to independent life, she changes sides of the curtain, steps out of the dream and reality takes over.

In addition to the blurring of dream and reality, the play is characterised by power relations: In the first part, Ada is dominated by her mother and her many illnesses and has to lie down a lot. The actress sits on the floor throughout the first part. The mother's shadow behind her is large and threatening. The audience sits in an elevated position on the bleachers and looks down on Ada. In the second part, Ada takes over in the form of a robot, the audience becomes subordinate to her and sits on low platforms almost on the floor. The scientists are overcome by Ada and gradually leave the light cone of the stage.