Circumstance have established an international reputation by creating cinematic experiences in uncontrolled environments. In this new performance they channel the city into Arnolfini’s theatre for an intimate sci-fi opera that explores the real and fictional possibilities of terraforming - ie: making another planet in the Earth's image. Like a film without images, but instead fusing transmitted voices with theatre effects, visceral electronics and live strings, they ask, what would happen if we could start all over again? In When There Is Only Us a performer roams the city, their words transmitted wirelessly back to the venue as they travel through the world. In dialogue with another performer, who remains in front of the audience, they describe their city as if it were a new world, while the sound of the city is also dragged back in to the venue. This is the sound of a city that the audience know, and yet they hear it described as a fictional cinematic environment on to which they can map their own memories. Sarah Anderson and Duncan Speakman will perform live music, creating a soundtrack to this absent voice, working with Bristol-based performers Jessica Macdonald and Alice Tatton-Brown.

Circumstance's unique compositional mixture of acoustic string arrangements and electronic processing creates an intense experience that draws on real and imagined nightmares of the future of our planet. Known for their work in outdoor environments, in this project they are pushing both our own practice as well as expected notions of 'live cinema' scoring. This work is currently in early development. A selection of both scientists and science fiction writers are contributing texts to the project that explore the ethical implications making another planet in the Earth's image.

Ticket prices: £8.00 full / £6.00 concessions. This event takes place at Arnolfini - book advance tickets online here.

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