Mellonia: "A Theatrical Cinema" We Fell in Love With…

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Last Tuesday, I had the honor of attending the theatrical performance Mellonia by the Hippo Theatre Group. This is a groundbreaking theatrical work that combines the movement of actors with dazzling audiovisual material. The performance is a unique blend of digital and classical theater, merging the world of comics with live sound and mime. In this way, the story of love comes to life before the audience’s eyes, offering a sense of transport to a different world in the future.

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But beyond its innovative presentation of the main theme, what truly captivated me were the philosophical messages it conveys regarding technology and its achievements—questions that have increasingly concerned the scientific community, including historians of technology, neurobiologists, cognitive scientists, and ethicists.

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To what extent is it possible for experts in robotics and cognitive science to create a human-like robot? Will genetics eventually succeed in creating people—and if so, will these beings have thoughts, souls, and emotions? How can a technological creation comprehend or possess a sense of morality? Is there a chance that in the future machines will control humans—or even merge with them? Through the lens of technology and the everyday life shaped by politicians and the media, how does humanity lose its basic needs, its joys, its way of dreaming? Could it be that humans ultimately exist to serve technology, rather than technology serving them?

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These are just a few of the countless questions raised throughout the performance, making Mellonia truly one of a kind. For all these reasons, it is a performance worth seeing. A “theatrical cinema” unlike any other—full of imagination, momentum, philosophy, and education. I consider myself lucky that, through the “Free Minds” website, I was given the opportunity to participate in this wonderful journey of imagination and entertainment.

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A journey you should definitely embark on too!