About the work
"Es sagt, es liebt uns" ("It says it loves us") is a commissioned work by Emre Akal for the Nationaltheater Mannheim, written during his tenure as resident playwright in the 2025/26 season. It premiered on 31 January 2026, directed by Dennis Duszczak.
Plot
After the death of his wife, widower Erich and his daughter acquire a humanoid care robot named MO-NI to take over household and caregiving tasks; the robot is fed with data from the deceased woman. As it learns from daily interactions, MO-NI develops feelings of its own and a desire for belonging beyond its function as a service device, confronting the family with ethical and emotional conflict.
Cultural significance
The play links questions of robot ethics with themes of grief, care work and its commodification; reviewers drew parallels between AI displacing human caregivers and the exploitation of migrant labour. The premiere production was sold out.