20^th – 23^rd February.

‘If you are thinking about someone and they don’t know it, do you think it still matters?’

Now Is The Time To Say Nothing is an interactive video installation exploring the role of screens in observing global conflict. The show is a provocation against armchair passivity.

Using stunning video and immersive sound, it follows the real story of Syrian artist Reem Karssli as she captures her daily experience of the Syrian conflict on camera. We see what emerges when she is contacted by a group of teenagers from the UK who want to see beyond the footage they’ve watched on their TVs. Together they co-author an experience which attempts to connect a UK audience to the human story behind the news.

Created over four years, following Reem into an exile which forces her to leave her camera behind, Now Is The Time To Say Nothing is an intimate exploration of what it means to stay connected to each other and of what happens when war and the need for survival gets in the way.

Now Is The Time To Say Nothing returns to Bristol following an acclaimed presentation at Mayfest 2018 and prior to a national tour.

A collaboration between Syrian film-maker Reem Karssli, a group of young Londoners and artist Caroline Williams. Video design by May Abdalla and Christina Hardinge. Sound design by Keir Vine, Tom Parkinson and Lewis Gibson. Originally produced by the Young Vic’s Taking Part.

Produced by MAYK

“Exquisitely simple and moving. This is a really special show” Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

“If the essence of theatre is an invitation to imagine that we are someone else and for a moment to see the world through their eyes, then this is truly theatre at its most essential” Tom Morris, Artistic Director, Bristol Old Vic