剧评：____ Can Change

照片出处：Tuckys Photography

为彼此腾出空间—— 观“____ Can Change”

文：梁海彬

剧名的语气很肯定。开场时，表演者们以国家官方论述阐述改变之必须、改变之必要、改变之必然。观众是参与者，看表演者们分享三段成功范例（success stories），展现剧中人物如何成功地做出改变。

我甚至不确定应否用“表演”来形容演出，这其实更像三段搬演片段，寓教于乐，是一场场的呈现（presentation）：《印籍同胞可以改变》、《同性恋者可以改变》、《马克思主义者可以改变》。原来剧名的空白处“____”，是留给社会上近乎隐形的弱势群体。

剧中的主人翁都做出了改变—— 无论是被外在势力改变，或是在内心拉扯下主动改变—— 而且也都有看似皆大欢喜的结局。在他们的改变中，观众也渐渐发现，主人翁身边的人们（伴侣、亲人、同事、甚至是网上陌客）反而没有做出任何改变。

第一段呈现中，Devaki（Masturah Oli 饰演）发现自己参与的印度舞蹈表演竟然有其他族群的表演者抹黑了脸参与跳舞，因而决定投诉。但此后她所经历的一系列遭遇，最终让她决定向公众做出道歉。观众席亮起，主持人（Lian Sutton 饰演）邀请观众向Devaki 任意发问。我看的那一场戏，观众都很关心Devaki，有位观众质问：Devaki 作为受害者，为什么反而需要道歉？Devaki却阐明自己已经接受了自己的改变，并且显得很坦然。发问的观众很尴尬，不安地笑了，我也措手不及。原来我已经在默默希望Devaki不要改变，自己设了“Devaki don’t need to change”（Devaki 不需要改变）的结论。

我作为华人，在本地社会属于主流群体，我究竟能够理解她的苦楚吗？多年来，每天有多少的Devaki必须做出改变，我们是否自觉？

照片出处：Tuckys Photography

第三段呈现，表演者们邀请编剧（Haresh Sharma）和导演（Alvin Tan）上台与观众交流。观众在交流过程中针对主题表达想法，我看的那一场，有观众语重心长，担心万一有观众看了戏以后，丝毫不觉得这三段呈现有什么问题，那该怎么办？剧作家该如何确保这样的情形不会发生？

而导演和编剧此时异口同声地说：可是，我们不能，也不愿改变别人的想法啊。

原来“____ Can Change”的留白处，不是为了让观众填上任何对象，不是为了让观众把一己之见强求在任何人身上…… 当剧场开放讨论，舞台扩大到现实，“搬演片段”也成了生活（实际上创作团队是从生活中取材），剧名的留白处，是为了让所有人能有“聆听彼此”的一个难得机会。创作团队在剧场开启和观众交流的空间，因为同理心必须从聆听开始。

第二段呈现并没有观众交流部份，不知是不是创作团队刻意决定只让观众当个旁观者，让观众在这一部“模范呈现”中，自行与自己发生对话。戏剧家奥古斯特·伯奥（Augusto Boal）的论坛剧场中，常常为观众呈现一个“反模范”（anti-model）的呈现，让观众参与，为反模范提供各种解决的方法与可能性。而“____ Can Change”则以标准模范的呈现方式，让观众看到其不合理性，再从交流中进行探索和反思。

表演者们穿梭在不同角色之间，Joshua Lim 绝对是现今中生代演员中很亮眼的一名，在不同角色中游刃有余，在细微处展示演技；尤其在第二段演出中，和戏精Karen Tan 对戏时，处处精彩。难忘Karen 饰演的母亲在听着医生阐述将如何“医治”她同性恋者儿子时，心痛如绞的那一幕，让人动容。四位表演者们在情感上的精准拿捏、灵活多变地转换角色而不失真实感，为演出增色许多。Alvin 和 Haresh 在台上与观众进行交流，他们引导观众、启迪思维的功力，是积累多年的浑厚功力，不容忽视。

演出的舞台设计就像是高低不一的演讲台，让表演者们以高低距离体现人物关系的变化与变动，简约而有效。在愈加分化的世界里，我们如何求同存异？能不能有天，不必再看到哪一个群体一成不变，却以高姿态去强求另一群体做出改变？能不能有天，我们以携手同行的姿态，为彼此做出改变？能不能有天，我们一起把剧名改成“We Can All Change For Each Other”（我们都能够为彼此做出改变）？

疫情下剧场重新开放，必要剧场以“____ Can Change”作为压轴，迎接即将来临的2022年，是对未来的祈愿。


关于演出：2021年11月10日，8PM，滨海艺术中心 吟诵工作室，必要剧场 呈现

Thea:preter – Review of _______ Can Change

Creating Space for One Another: A Review of _______ Can Change
By Neo Hai Bin
Translation from the original Chinese to English: Melissa Lim


The title of this performance, _______ Can Change, connotes a certain positivity. When the play begins, the performers appear as government spokespersons expounding on the necessity and inevitability of change. The audience are co-opted as active participants, as they watch the actors perform three success stories, each with protagonists that manage to effect change.

I am not even sure if I should use the term “performance” in relation to _______ Can Change. Rather, it is more akin to the presentation of three skits—Indians Can Change, Homosexuals Can Change and Marxists Can Change—that have the intention of educating through entertainment. It would seem that the “_______” in the title of the play is meant to be filled in with the invisible minorities or marginalised communities in our society.

The protagonists in all three presentations have chosen to make a change—be it one influenced by external forces or internal emotional turmoil—and the plays all end on a seemingly happy note. Yet the audience becomes gradually more cognisant of the fact that that despite the protagonists making changes, the people surrounding them (partners, family, colleagues, and even strangers online) do not correspondingly effect any change at all.

In the first work, as Devaki (played by Masturah Oli) performs in a Bollywood dance sequence for a company D&D, she comes to the horrific realisation that her fellow performer-colleagues are in brownface. She decides to lodge a complaint, but this results in a series of unfortunate episodes, leading her to decide on issuing a public apology. The house lights come on, and the facilitator (played by Lian Sutton) invites the audience to pose their questions for Devaki. On the night of the performance I watched, the audience were evidently concerned about Devaki, and one audience member asked: Devaki is the victim here, so why does she need to apologise? In response, Devaki calmly explained that she has already accepted that she has changed her perspective. Embarrassed, the audience member laughed nervously. Likewise, I was caught off-guard by Devaki’s response, and in that moment, I realised that I had silently hoped that Devaki would not change; I had already formed my own conclusion that she should not change.

As a member of the Chinese majority in our society, how much do I really understand of Devaki’s plight? How aware are we that over the years, many Devakis in our midst have had to make changes every day?

In Marxists Can Change, which is the third segment of the performance, the actors invite playwright Haresh Sharma and director Alvin Tan to join them on stage for the post-show dialogue during which the audience shares their responses and perspectives. In the show I watched, someone expressed her concern that there may be audience members who would not see any problem with the stories depicted in the three plays. So, how would the playwright and director ensure that does not happen?

Both playwright and director were unanimous in their response: they can’t ensure that, nor do they intend to change what others think.

照片出处：Tuckys Photography

It becomes apparent that the “_______” in _______ Can Change isn’t left empty so that the audience can fill in the blank with their selected subject, nor is it meant for them to impose their opinions on anyone else… Instead, when the floor is open for questions, the stage broadens to incorporate our reality, and the three presentations expand into our lived experiences (in fact, the presentations were drawn from real life incidents). What the “________” in the title represents is this rare opportunity for everyone to listen to one another. Through the dialogue with the audience, the creative team has established a space for communication—because empathy begins with deep listening.

The second presentation in the work does not have an interactive segment with the audience. I wonder if this was a deliberate decision, so that the audience can only play the role of the observer during this “model presentation” and be compelled to dialogue internally with themselves. In theatre-maker Augusto Boal’s forum theatre, an anti-play (that is anti-model) is performed, and the audience is invited to propose solutions and alternatives. _______ Can Change instead presents the model scenario, so that the audience are made acutely aware of its injustice, and then through the discussion that ensues, they reflect more deeply on the issues.

The four actors take on multiple roles in the play. Joshua Lim is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding mid-career actors today, and he shines as he moves with ease from character to character, demonstrating his finesse as he accentuates each of their subtleties. This is particularly evident in the second play Homosexuals Can Change, in the scenes which he shares with the impeccable veteran actor Karen Tan. Karen, for her part, is unforgettable as the mother who, in one heartrending scene, listens to the doctor explain how her gay son can be “cured”, her expression one of naked distress. All four actors were excellent, effortlessly moving through the multiple characters they play whilst maintaining their emotional pitch. In addition, Alvin and Haresh’s adeptness in facilitating the post-show discussion with the audience and encouraging them to reflect deeply is evidence of their accumulated years of experience and skills.

The simple stage design features platforms of different heights, effectively allowing the actors to utilise the disparity to depict their characters’ shifting relationships to one another.

In our increasingly polarised world, how can we establish common ground whilst maintaining our unique differences? Will there be a day when we no longer scrutinise to find which group has not changed, and high-handedly demand that they do? Will there be a day when we will stand shoulder to shoulder, and effect change for the benefit of one another? Could we possibly arrive at a day when we can collectively change the title of this work to “We Can All Change For Each Other?”

Theatres have begun reopening under today’s pandemic conditions. In staging _______ Can Change as its penultimate production, The Necessary Stage is making a wish for the future as we march inexorably towards 2022.

Performance watched: Wednesday 10 November 2021, 8PM, Esplanade Recital Studio. Presented by The Necessary Stage.

照片出处：Tuckys Photography