Playback improv is helping Chinese people open up about trauma, discuss taboo topics and find positivity in their lives
- The performances showcase actors interpreting the stories told to them by the audience
- Many stories include personal trauma, and the performance is an act of healing
In a packed theatre in the southern Chinese megacity of Shenzhen last month, a troupe of improvisation actors stood in front of an audience, pointed to a member of the crowd and asked her to share a story from her life.
The woman, who appeared to be in her 20s, said that, years ago, on a wintry day, she was walking home in a dark alley when a man approached her. As they passed each other, the assailant reached out and grabbed her breast.
Time has passed, but the woman still cannot forget that brief moment of fear and humiliation. As she finished her story, the event host looked at the actors and said, “Please improvise this story.”
After the host’s prompting, an actress stepped forward and shouted, “Just because I have boobs, does that mean you get to grab them?”
Her colleagues followed the lead, reciting a poem, playing music or dramatising the emotions relayed by the woman.