Cyber-psychedelische Séancen

Abstract

The article outlines a musical theatre practice that is situated at the intersection of technology, ritual and the present day, and is summarised under the term “cyber-psychedelic séance”. Based on historical references such as Malevich's Black Square and early stage machinery, the text reflects on the current crisis in artistic production in the age of artificial intelligence and cultural excess. The focus is on the work of the ensemble GAMUT INC, whose retro-futuristic musical theatre formats combine analogue sound machines, digital control, electronics, video and performance to create open spaces of resonance. Selected productions are used to show how musical theatre is conceived as a ritualistic, overwhelming and deliberately non-linear event that focuses less on narration and more on experience, simultaneity and ambiguity. The stage appears as an engine room in which historical technological fantasies, media-archaeological research and current discourses on human-machine relationships overlap. The text advocates a form of music theatre that asserts the uniqueness of live performance against digital reproducibility and develops new aesthetic and social relevance precisely through its play with apparatus and illusion.