It’s Time to Get Old!
In this documentary theater, young theatre makers transform older football enthusiasts into characters in a video game who compete against the “Galaxy All-Star Team” on a digital football pitch. Virtual figures, live movements, gaming sounds, and sports commentary combine to create a special theatrical experience between the real and virtual worlds.
Beard Trap Group
24 September, 10:00
25 September, 10:00
25 September, 18:00
FUNDUS THEATER | Theatre of Research
Sievekingdamm 3, 20535 Hamburg
Photo: Courtesy of Aranya Theater Festival
“It’s Time to Get Old!” is a trans-media theatre project that combines documentary theatre, live video game control, audience participation, and improvised sports commentary.
The starting point is football—a sport usually associated with youth, strength, and speed. At its core, however, is ageing as a real and often overlooked human experience. Dozens of football-loving senior participants are transformed into virtual avatars in a video game and compete against a “Galactic All-Star Team.” The movements of aging bodies are translated into playful choreographies. Stadium sounds, game audio, and live commentary merge into an immersive performance space. Through real-time control, audience participation, and improvised commentary, each performance becomes a unique narrative that makes the life experiences of older people visible.
Photo: Courtesy of Aranya Theater Festival
The project aims to strengthen the social visibility of older adults, challenge stereotypes of aging, and foster intergenerational dialogue. Its artistic innovation lies in the real-time translation of biometric data into digital avatars, creating a tension between vulnerability and vitality, reality and virtuality.
By linking bodily data with a digital game environment, the project develops a metaphor for generational conflict and opens new perspectives on aging, dignity, and humor. The project is aimed at intergenerational audiences, football and gaming communities, and digital culture practitioners.
In the context of the 40th anniversary of the Hamburg–Shanghai city partnership, the production brings together international artists and audiences to reflect on aging, football, and future imaginaries, highlighting the cultural dynamism of both cities in experimental and participatory theatre.
Photo: Courtesy of Aranya Theater Festival
Organized by: German Association for Asian Arts (Deutscher Verein für Asiatische Kunst e. V.)
Funded by: Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media; Department of Drama, Film & Television Arts, School of Liberal Arts, Nanjing University
Cooperation Partners: Fundus Theater | Theater of Research; Hamburg Liaison Office China (Shanghai), YOUNG Theater Shanghai
40th Anniversary of the Partnership
