After years documenting the horrors of the Iraq war, Photojournalist Sarah and Foreign correspondent James' relationship is tested when they return home to New York. How does each partner grapple with the stamp of images and horrors on their psyche? What was accomplished and what was sacrificed by their efforts? As spectators, how do we reconcile our comfort and security against conflict and suffering thousands of miles away? What about the suffering in our own community? Are we daunted by the enormity of the pain or motivated to provide relief?
“Insightful writing, the work is smart, stylish, timely and layered with an intriguing seriousness that inspires discussion after the curtain comes down —a rarity these days” Associated Press
What do we choose to do when we see images of atrocities on the world stage? Do we choose to feel, empathize and take action to prevent these from continuing or do we become desensitized and turn a blind eye?
For example, I recently attended an intense workshop on zero waste, which prompted to step up my recycling efforts. The first day in the grocery store after, I experienced an overwhelming dread at the amount of plastic packaging that was encasing almost everything in the store. In the past I had randomly selected these items and dropped them in my cart with little regard for the third-world countries that would receive waste shipments of this very same plastic. In these poor countries, it is often the children who have the job of burning these heaps of plastics, which are highly toxic to them, as well as well as polluting the region’s air.
The play, “Time Stands Still” examines Sarah’s call as a photo journalist. She is willing to go into life-threatening, war-torn countries and capture images for the media in the hopes that the viewers’ response will be to feel and take action.
