The response to the premiere of Just A Bad Day, the flagship project of the We Can! End All Violence Against Women campaign, was overwhelming. On June 22^nd, around 220 people came down to the Substation Theatre to watch our forum theatre piece on violence against women. The evening show was brimming with people, some of whom had to sit on the floor because we were sold out.  Our guest-of-honour, Member of Parliament Mr Zainudin Nordin, graced the evening show with his presence and committed to being a We Can! Change Maker – taking a pledge to practice and promote non-violence.

Among the audience were Member of Parliament Ellen Lee, Workers’ Party Chairman Sylvia Lim and the family of the late Raj Verma. Raj Verma was a founding member of AWARE and is considered an icon of the spirit of feminism and social justice. Several Change Makers who were touched by the campaign came down to show their support as well.

It was only in May this year when a team of enthusiastic Change Makers came together to devise the play. These volunteers, from all walks of life in Singapore, came forward to share their stories of violence, oppression and vulnerability. They went through an intensive 40-hour workshop that included basic theatre exposure and a Change Maker workshop, as part of the We Can! campaign. Through this powerful experience, the Change Makers were able to mold compelling characters who mirrored their struggles, their society.

Many of the cast and crew members of Just A Bad Day have little or no experience in theatre. This includes lead actresses Rachel Chung and Jasmine Hu.

The play contains numerous scenes that are familiar to all of us: A woman blusters into her office, late. A grandmother waits for her family to come home for dinner. Friends gather for a boisterous birthday celebration. Yet, in all these apparently normal situations, there are moments of deep discomfort and tension, sometimes culminating in outright violation. Conflicts escalate with seemingly no resolution in sight.

But then, each scene was replayed, and the audience was given the chance to stop it at any point they felt something was not right; to step into the role of one of the characters and try to make it right. The forum theatre formatis not only thought-provoking, but also allows for audience discussion on important issues, with the help of a facilitator who took them into the world of the play and gave them a chance to change the injustice they see. In turn, the actors had to respond to the new situation, showing the audience that their actions had consequences. This highlighted some of the difficulties faced by characters in the play.

Many members of the audience were extremely eager to jump in when they could. One of the most memorable interventions came towards the end of the evening, when a witty audience member stepped in to replace a character who was a powerless bystander to “dude talk” that was quickly morphing into an ominous situation. Through his eloquence and a pinch of realism, he managed to convince the other characters to change their point of view while speaking their language.

12-year-old Theo Chen intervened, twice, replacing the perpetrators of violence in the workplace and family scenarios to show the audience how it’s done.

Despite being inexperienced actors, the cast did a fantastic job, especially when it came to improvisations during interventions. It is no easy feat to think up responses on their feet while keeping in character. It was clear that all the actors poured their hearts into their role as they interacted with audience members, young and old.

Quen Wong, who also played one of the lead roles in the play, said of the experience, “The artistic process was liberating. But more than that, this was a group of people who had come together in the first place because we had witnessed or experienced unspeakable violence in their own lives.” Quen played a grandmother who constantly chided her daughter-in-law for not being a “good wife” according to her traditional expectations.

By the end of the play, there were new sign-ups for the We Can! Change Maker workshops, and requests from the audience to bring the Forum Theatre Tour to their community!

Just A Bad Day is definitely off to a great start. Plans are underway to bring the play to audiences across Singapore. Schools, Family Service Centres and organizations such as the National Council of Social Services have shown interest in future partnerships, which is extremely encouraging for the We Can! team.