Music and The Arts in Saffron Walden

BENEFITS OF THEATRE

By Sarah Burch

Hyperfusion is a professional theatre company based in Saffron Walden that specializes in interactive theatre and uses its expertise through running a theatre training centre for young people.

Hub Magazine was invited to a local school to see Hyperfusion performing their play, Laugh and you’re part of it, which addresses many issues of adolescent life, the main focus being on bullying.

The theatre begins as soon as the school pupils walk into the room. There are no introductions as to who the actors are or what the play is about. At this point, the pupils are spectators, just watching the story unfold and come to a not so happy ending as a climax.

The interaction and audience participation then comes into play during the final scene and this is where the ‘forum’ aspect of the performance begins. The audience is split into groups and each group is assigned an actor. The pupils take on the roles of writers and directors with the objective of improving the final outcome, informed by what they have seen. It is important to note that the actors say and do exactly as they are instructed.

Starting from the beginning, the play is repeated. “Timeout” is shouted when a situation arises and needs attention or re-working. Some scenes may be revisited many times before there is resolution and the pupils’ suggestions can create more problems or make things worse, whilst others are resolved quickly.

Each forum theatre performance is different. Depending on how the audience deals with the given situations, the pupils lead the play in a new direction every time. We at HUB found it extremely unpredictable and were pleasantly, and sometimes not so pleasantly, surprised at some of the viewpoints given by pupils.

The process of forum theatre enables pupils to gain insight into why fellow students behave in a particular way and why some reactions have a knock-on effect. The process is a real eye opener, giving pupils a chance to see things from a different perspective or someone else’s point of view and as a result they gain vital life skills such as empathy, communication and understanding (let’s face it, we could all do with a bit of life skill training at some stage in our lives). Implementing forum theatre within the school curriculum benefits them throughout their lives, be it within their relationships or careers.

For further information on Hyperfusion Interactive Theatre or Training Centre see contact details below.