As a joint initiative with the Cultural Centre Caisa Moving in November brings back The Show, a large scale installation by British artists Tim Etchells.

The full text of the installation announces, in a bold playful imperative, THE SHOW MUST NOT GO ON. The work is at once a reference to the postponement of live theatre events due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, and at the same time a striking open call for social pause, critical reflection and political change. Etchells’ ambiguous provocative détournement of an upbeat English idiom ‘THE SHOW MUST GO ON’ becomes ‘THE SHOW MUST NOT GO ON’ – a simple linguistic reversal which creates complex new possible meanings.

“Together with Caisa we are reflecting on the ongoing impact that the absence of live art events has on our society. How can we as cultural institutions contribute to finding other ways of moving the live experience of art back into the center of our attention, without occupying only virtual spaces. The restriction of indoor gatherings and closure of performing art spaces does not only have a crucial impact on the artists and their creations themselves but also on the way, we as human beings interact with one another in social spaces and the connective social fabric that’s created while witnessing art works together in a common space.” – Kerstin Schroth, artistic director

“As the pandemic has devastated lives and economies, our models of human interaction, social structures and priorities have been called into question, albeit to different extents, and with different motivations in different international contexts. Such limited, temporary changes as there have been in these last months though, only serve to underscore the need for deeper, more permanent change. (…) The hasty return to ‘business as usual’ after periods of Corona lockdown, already affected across many countries, suits vested interests, whilst the possibilities of a pause, with its much-needed revaluation of habitual thinking and practice, represents an opportunity we should not be afraid to embrace” – Tim Etchells

Tim Etchells

Tim Etchells is an artist and a writer based in the UK. He has worked in a wide variety of contexts, notably as leader of the world-renowned performance group Forced Entertainment and in collaboration with a range of visual artists, choreographers, and photographers. His work spans performance, video, photography, text projects, install      ation and fiction. He is currently Professor of Performance & Writing at Lancaster University.