Performances
Trick Or Threat by Drama Box (Singapore)
When: July 3, 8 to 9.30pm
Admission: Free
What: An MRT train heading north suddenly stops, trapping five passengers of different ethnicities inside. One of them receives a text message saying that there might be a bomb on the train. Everyone panics.
Created in 2007, the work explores Singapore's ability to deal with racial tensions when faced with the threat of terrorism.
Performed in English, Malay and Mandarin, with English and Chinese surtitles.
Real Voices Real Lives by Mind The Gap (UK)
When: July 4, 7 to 8.30pm
Admission: Free
What: This interactive theatre workshop explores disability harassment in a safe space, including issues of hate crime and violence.
Professional learning-disabled actors who have experienced some of these issues will present a series of short vignettes, after which audience members can participate and discuss what they have learnt through role-playing and sharing sessions.
Performed in English with Chinese surtitles.
One Employee, Two Bosses by Centre for Applied Theatre (Taiwan)
When: July 4, 8.30 to 10pm
Admission: Free
What: Taiwan relies heavily on dispatched labour to staff its companies. These "outsourced" employees often have less protection than regular employees, fewer benefits and no job security.
Main character Xingzhen is one of these dispatched labour workers, a middle-aged woman who has returned to the workforce. Her colleagues treat her with hostility because they fear she might steal their jobs. She tries to help a fellow worker approach their two bosses to no avail - and then an accident happens.
The play aims to raise awareness of and provide a critical reflection on this system of labour. Performed in Mandarin with English surtitles.
The Young Can Change The World by Drama Box (Singapore)
When: July 4, 11am and noon; July 5, 11am
Admission: Free
What: Three short forum theatre plays, the culmination of a 11/2-year youth engagement programme, will deal with social issues of significance to young people and their peers.
Sonar Meye (Golden Girl) by Jana Sanskriti (India)
When: July 5, 7 to 8.30pm
Admission: Free
What: A young girl is forced to marry at an early age because her father would rather collect her dowry than let her go to school.
Sonar Meye is an exploration of patriarchal societies and the marginalisation of women. It was created after several years of workshops with women in rural villages in West Bengal, first staged in 1991, and has since been performed more than 2,500 times across India and the world.
Performed in Bengali with English and Chinese surtitles.
Sharing sessions
playGROUND
When: July 3, 5 to 9.30pm; July 4, 10.30am to 9.30pm; July 5, 10.30am to 8.30pm
Admission: Free
What: Non-arts groups will set up booths to showcase their social causes and how one can fill the gaps in society in ways other than the arts. Groups include non-profit organisation Willing Hearts and SG Makers, a non-profit supporting makers in Singapore.
Theatre of the Oppressed and its social impact
When: July 4, 1 to 2.30pm
Admission: Free, but seats are limited and will be released on a first-come, first-served basis
What: Local and international practitioners, including representatives from the theatre companies who will be performing at the festival, will discuss the genre of forum theatre, the idea of Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed and its role in effecting socio-political change.
Workshops
Aesthetics of the Oppressed: Sound/Rhythm producing Forum Theatre by Barbara Santos (Kuringa, Berlin)
When: July 5 to 7, 9am to 6pm
Admission: $380. To register, e-mail josephine@dramabox.org by Thursday with your name and contact information
What: Learn about the development of sound and rhythm in the creation of forum theatre scenes and how rhythm, image and movement can communicate stories and inspire discourse.
Breaking the Silence - Level 3 by Kok Heng Leun (Drama Box)
When: July 8 to 10, 9am to 6pm
Admission: $380. To register, e-mail josephine@dramabox.org by Thursday with your name, contact information and relevant experience
What: Drama Box's artistic director Kok Heng
Leun will introduce three advanced theatre techniques that will help participants to unpack complex issues and stories, going beyond the surface to put strategies and insights into action.
Introduction to Forum Theatre by Koh Hui Ling (Drama Box)
When: July 9, 2 to 6pm or 6.30 to 10.30pm
Admission: $60. To register, e-mail josephine@dramabox.org by Thursday with your name and contact information
What: This workshop will introduce participants to Drama Box's approaches to forum theatre, as well as the theories informing forum theatre and Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed.
For more information on the festival and a full list of activities and events, go to www.dramabox.org/eng/productions-community-festival2015.html
All performances and activities will be held in the inflatable GoLi theatres at the open field next to Nex Shopping Mall, between Upper Serangoon Road and Serangoon Avenue 2.
