GoLi - Bringing theatre to the community

A large goli-shaped (marble) structure greeted me when I arrived at the field next to NEX shopping mall on 4 July.  This was the community / forum theatre project initiated by Singapore theatre company Drama Box to bring theatre to the community.  The event also featured various community groups outside the performing area to promote their cause.  

A sizeable crowd, consisting of mostly young people (in the arts?), attended the first presentation of the evening, Real Voices Real Lives by UK company Mind The Gap.  The forum theatre piece explored the society's treatment of people with learning difficulties, featuring actors with the same challenges.  Using a nursery rhyme as a starting, it told the story of these people being abused in public, be it on the bus or by ill-intent people.  The presentation did encourage audience to step up and take on the role of "spect-actors", replaying and changing the situation faced by the protagonists in the initial situation.   While the 3 actors may not be the best in terms of acting, they brought a sense of reality to this presentation.

Queued up for the next presentation, One Employee Two Bosses by Centre for Applied Theatre from Taiwan.  This play touched on labour issues, in particular sub-contract workers.  It was a more polished production in terms of acting and technical aspects, but the scenario took a long time to develop.  Imagine watching a Taiwan soap opera.  There were re-enactment and discussions, but overall it did not engage me that much.


Overall, it was a good initiative by Drama Box in bringing theatre to the community, though I am not sure the presentation of forum theatre would help build up the audience base.  However, I believe that the audience would leave the shows with a better understanding of the issues faced by certain segments of the society.