Forum Theatre’s unique approach
has the potential to explore a community’s voice and raise awareness by empowering and encouraging people to change reality through their own suggestions for real social issues.
A Forum Theatre performance will start with a conventional play for audience to witness the situation. Then the facilitator will inform the audience that the play will play again, but this time, they, now called spec-actors, have power to intervene and try to change the consequences. The play then continues with the directions suggested by the ‘spec-actors’.
The play may also end with an unresolved situation, inviting audience members to step in and propose solutions by replacing characters and acting out alternative scenarios.
OUCRU’s first forum theatre play ever, turning a usual life situation into an interactive play where you can change the main character’s tragic life.
Summary
Our first Forum Theatre play named “Small injury, big consequences” follows Tâm, a university student volunteering in the Mekong Delta. While clearing weeds, Tâm cut his hand with a rusty sickle.
Lacking first aid knowledge and proper equipment, his friends and local people gave him unverified traditional medicine instead of taking him to a health facility.
Back at school, Tâm started developing symptoms such ass fever, body aches, jaw stiffness, and breathing difficulty. Again, instead of visiting a medical facility, his friends gave him TikTok’s ‘health advice’. The play ended with a tragic end that Tam had to stay in the hospital for a long time, spend many months in rehab. He felt like he dissapointed his family and wished that he could have done differently.
Now, it’s your turn to change Tam’s story. What will you do? Follow our instructions below.
Will you risk your health and use a rusty object without safety equipments?
Tam and his friend started their volunteering job. While being handed rusty sickles, Tam’s friend felt scared but the team lead insisted on using those tools.
Always be careful with rusty objects!
When you accidentally have a small but deep cut from a rusty object, what will you do?
Tam was injured while working. A whole crew had advice from a local woman who offfered some herbal treatment.
Will you take herbal treatment for your open wounds or go to a health facility?
If you feel you’re unwell, will taking advice from TikTok be the way to go?
Back to school, around one week later, Tam showed some symptoms but his friends think it was nothing and he didn’t need to worry.
TikTok, Google, or any online search platform shouldn’t be considered a creditable source of health information.
If you don’t tell everything to a health professional, how can they help you?
Tam went to his school infirmary. but didn’t tell the nurse a whole story. Without knowing he was cut with a rusty sickle, the nurse gave him some basic pain relieve medicine.
When you meet a health professional, you should tell them in details what happened to you.
If you don’t tell everything to a health professional, how can they help you?
Tam’s symptoms were getting more serious but he insisted on refusing to go to the hospital.
When in doubt, head to the hospital!
Tetanus can be treated but will cost a lot of time and money if patients don’t receive proper treatment early or are not vaccinated.
Tam’s story could have been different if he has tetanus vaccine. Remember, you should retake tetanus vaccine every 10 years!
Contact your local health facility to get tetanus vaccine!
