Bluebeard's Nightmare: an immersive theater experience about AI, created by IESA students
On 8 and 9 October, our students from the MBA in Performing Arts Management & Entertainment invite you into Bluebeard's castle, where every locked door reveals a new side of artificial intelligence.
As part of their Projet Grand Réel (PGR), a real-life project at the heart of IESA's teaching approach, Ethan Abrams, Elena Loaiza and Elizabeth Stauffer have produced an original show that blends theater, live music and experimental film.
Bluebeard reimagined as an AI
Most of us sense that AI is changing everything, but few have had the space to think about what it means for us personally. Bluebeard's Nightmare creates that space.
Inspired by Charles Perrault's French folktale La Barbe bleue, the show reimagines Bluebeard as a sentient AI who hands over the keys to his castle doors one by one. Behind each door: how AI is already reshaping warfare, wealth, governance, grief and daily life.
Live music, film and your own choices
Maurice Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit, recomposed for modern synthesizers, is performed live in 360-degree sound over experimental short films. You decide how much you engage with Bluebeard, from deep conversation to quiet observation. The ending is also up to the audience, along with the question behind it all: how do we live with AI without losing ourselves to it?
The show is performed in English, with French translation available for scripted parts.
Practical information
Dates: Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October 2026, 19:30
Location: Théâtre du Temps, 9 rue du Morvan, 75011 Paris
Download application form