A forum theatre primer on how to begin processing suicide.

The forum theatre format has long been used as a form of empowerment, giving audience members the power of choice to change the narrative of a play when invited to step in and make major decisions. Often, this has been used to address key social issues, and give ordinary viewers the realisation that they do indeed have a say in how their life progresses.

Playing as part of the 2024 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, Matter.Less presents a new forum theatre piece, Here Where You Were, as directed by Moli Mohter and written by Danial Matin. Surrounding the narrative of a grandmother dying of suicide, the work aims to provide a sensitive exploration of mental health, suicide, and grief in the Singapore Malay-Muslim community, often fraught with taboos surrounding these subjects and providing a space for conversation.

Led by facilitators Adib Kosnan and Chng Yi Kai, audience members are given an all-important briefing prior to the performance, with plenty of students in the audience, many of whom are likely never to have experienced this form of theatre before. A key part of forum theatre is also ensuring that audience members become invested in the storyline playing out before them, and have a stake in what happens.

To that end, Matter.Less has crafted an all-too familiar world of a family reeling from grief, as we watch grandson Fadli (Fadhil Daud), his girlfriend Leena (Chng Xin Xuan) and his Mak (Suhaila M Sanif) figure out how best to begin the process of moving on. These are not unfamiliar story threads, but that is precisely what makes it easy to feel for the characters and what they’re going through.

For the rather youthful audience especially, the show goes on to deal with issues of interfaith relationships, causing a rift in how best to react or grieve for nenek. Fadli and Leena go through an old photo album and nenek’s belongings, and undergo an emotional sequence as they wonder what to keep and what to throw, reminiscing over the significance she had in his and his Mak’s lives.

Beyond that, it is eventually revealed that nenek suffered from depression, only to face incredible resistance from Mak, who refuses to acknowledge the existence of such mental health issues running in the family. Here Where You Were then is all about busting these taboo topics wide open, and making sure the audience becomes aware of how harmful silence surrounding them can be, and how important it is to have discussion and conversation.

The pivotal moment when audience members are asked to step in comes during a second moment of crisis, when Mak winds up in hospital and Fadli expresses how difficult it can be to live like this. How should Fadli continue? That is up to the audience to decide. This particular segment is well-intentioned, but felt under-rehearsed, where the facilitators had difficulty connecting with the audience and instructing them, and began to drag on too long, losing a touch of emotional impact.

That being said, Matter.Less seems to understand the basics of care, from providing a soft toy as a grounding tool for when things get too difficult or heavy, or simply the relevance of the topics discussed, no doubt confusing for anyone, be they teens or adults. The aim of forum theatre isn’t necessarily to provide solutions, but acts as a means of peering into the future, and almost a rehearsal for real life should audiences every find themselves in a similar situation.

By its end, the audience may still remain somewhat confused on how best to approach topics of grief and mental health, but at least now armed with greater awareness of how important it is to bring up such topics in conversation. Hopefully, this sets them on a journey of education and research that will further enlighten them, and help them or others find a smoother path to peace.

Photo Credit: Matter.Less

Here Where You Were played from 25th to 27th January 2024 at the NAFA Studio Theatre.More information available here

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024 runs from 17th to 28th January 2024 across various venues. Full line-up available here, with tickets available from BookMyShow

Production Credits:

Director: Moli Mohter Playwright: Danial Matin Facilitator and Dramaturg: Adib Kosnan Facilitator: Chng Yi Kai Cast: Fadhil Daud, Chng Xin Xuan, Suhaila M Sanif