Alumni Digest / U of T / People /
Who keeps a digital life alive?
Victoria Halper's virtual-reality production asks audiences to decide which traces of other people's lives should survive in a digital world.
Audiences experience [EOL]. End of Life at the 2025 Berliner Festspiele in the Gropius Bau.Photo: Fabian Schellhorn – Berliner Festspiele
The context
Where the work begins
In [EOL]. End of Life, audience members wear virtual-reality headsets and decide which digital traces to preserve for a fictional corporation. Victoria Halper, a U of T Mississauga theatre graduate, created and directs the production through DARUM, her experimental theatre company in Vienna.
The takeaway
What follows
The idea began after Halper and collaborator Kai Krösche attended state-funded funerals in Austria and searched online for traces of the people buried. Abandoned accounts and scattered reviews raised questions about remembrance. Pandemic restrictions then accelerated the company's experiments with digital performance. Halper drew on her drama training to build the story, and the production won the 2025 Nestroy Special Prize.
Source reporting
Who keeps a digital life alive?
Original summary by Alumni Digest, based on public source reporting. This independent publication is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Toronto. Source image retained for editorial review; rights clearance is still required before any broader reuse.
