Headlong has released rehearsal images for the world premiere of Robota, a new adaptation by Ella Road inspired by Karel Čapek’s groundbreaking 1920 play R.U.R.
The production marks Headlong’s first new show in Oxford since establishing a base in the city and will run from 3 to 18 July 2026.
Robota will also be the first full-scale production staged at the newly opened theatre within the University of Oxford’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.
Directed by Roy Alexander Weise, the production reimagines Čapek’s original vision as a high-voltage exploration of artificial intelligence and what it means to be human.
Blending science fiction, myth and origin story, the piece examines a near future in which machines indistinguishable from humans are created to serve society, before beginning to question their existence.
The story follows activist Helen as she becomes entangled with the Rossum Corporation’s creations, triggering a chain of events that sees the line between human and machine begin to blur.
The cast includes Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́, Umi Myers, Tiffany Gray, Ian Drysdale, Trevor Fox and Irfan Shamji.
The creative team features writer Ella Road, director Roy Alexander Weise, set and costume designer Loren Elstein, composers and sound designers Dan Balfour and Max Perryment, lighting designer Sally Ferguson, movement director Sarita Piotrowski and fight director Haruka Kuroda.
Headlong’s production has been developed in collaboration with academics at the University of Oxford, reflecting an ongoing dialogue around the role of AI in modern life.
The show forms part of the company’s renewed presence in Oxford, following its transition to the city as part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio programme.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
