“We are all in this together”

Reviewer: Lee Min Jie
Performance: 16 July 2016

Stigma is a youth-led community theatre project mentored by Rosemary McGowan and other members from the Singapore Drama Educators Association (SDEA) over a six-month period.  It compiles stories that highlight the struggles and spirit of youths with mental illnesses. A simple and straightforward play that hits home.

Directed by Tan Chia Wei and Shalyn Yong, Stigma cleverly condenses its messages into short vignettes. Each short story succinctly fleshes out the challenges youths with mental illnesses face in everyday settings such as in school, at home, and in the hospital.

Each story is personal and heartfelt. It is difficult to watch and disheartening to learn how they were bullied in school, misunderstood by teachers for coming to school late, deal with an alcoholic mother, and even hear disparaging and derogatory remarks from doctors.

The youth ensemble, who devises and performs the piece, moves like clockwork despite minor hiccups in scene transitions. Their ability to remain calm and collected in front of a live audience at such a tender age is possibly gleaned from all the curveballs life throws at them.

So invested and dedicated is the cast in performing that they forget a mic is in their hands. When they have to deliver more emotive lines, their screams and shouts reverberate well into my eardrums. That and the confusing coloured lights that flashes sporadically is amply compensated by the enthusiastic song and dance item in the finale.

Stigma also saw participation from Singapore Association for Mental and Singapore Polytechnic. Perhaps it is this influence that resulted in a scene from a therapy session. In light of everything that the play has starkly revealed, maybe it should be us in therapy instead of them.

“A taste of Playback Theatre”

Reviewer: Lee Min Jie
Performance: 16 July 2016

Founded in 2002, Tapestry Playback Theatre Ltd is a community theatre company in Singapore that practises a kind of improvisational theatre where audience or group members tell stories from their lives and watch them enacted on the spot. Their rich experience and expertise is evident when competent playbackers warm up audiences quickly with a few interactive exercises.

The theme for Tapestry Playback Theatre’s performance is “You never knew I was.” A theme designed to allow the younger generation to find out how their parents and grandparents grew up. Fortunately, there is no lack of story-sharers as many enthusiastic silver-haired folks and families are in attendance.

Interestingly the young performers are always able to capture the essence of each story despite it being shared by someone much older. The words and emotions resonate, perhaps a testament of how the joys and pains of growing up are shared by everyone.

The facilitator and playbackers do a good job of creating an atmosphere where audiences feel safe and secure. As the session progresses, more intimate stories are shared. This is quite an achievement considering how deeply personal some stories are and the fact that the group are practically strangers until an hour ago.

No doubt playback theatre is a valuable tool for surfacing stories and creating ties. Connections amongst those in the audience are built and strengthened. However, it remains to be seen if those connections are fleeting, existing only within the confines of the theatre. Or if it is able to find root outside the play and develop into a dialogue where transformative change can happen.