Der Fall McNeal

"Der Fall McNeal" is a theatre production at Deutsches Theater Berlin on the DT Bühne. The play by Ayad Akhtar, translated from English by Daniel Kehlmann and directed by András Dömötör, is about Jacob McNeal, a famous American writer in his late sixties with an alcohol problem and unsettling honesty, who at the height of his fame (Nobel Prize) and the end of his life (liver cirrhosis) is caught up by his past and overtaken by artificial intelligence. The piece asks about the future of art, what AI will become in the artistic context – toy, assistant or serious competition – and whether theatre can hold its own as an analogue place. Ulrich Matthes plays the title role; the running time is 1 hour 45 minutes with no intermission.

Written by a model, sources: visitberlin.de, deutschestheater.de