In 2018, 397 lives were lost to suicide in Singapore, accounting for more than 1 death a day (Samaritans of Singapore, 2019). It is also noted that suicide cases in Singapore rose by 10% since the year before. As statistics show, suicides are more common than it appears. However, it is often hushed and met with negativity. “Any suicide is one too many. Mental wellness is something important and serious," said Member of Parliament Mr. Seah Kian Peng.

Supporting this, Singapore Repertory Theatre and Shan You decided to collaborate for the event – Mental Health, Let’s Talk: Suicidality to bring attention to this issue through a thought-provoking theatre performance, Silence Bubble. That was produced by SRT and designed to allow the audience to understand the struggles of suicide in an authentic but controlled setting that will enable them to reflect and digest the complexities of this issue in a non-confrontational manner.

“Theatre-or theatricality- is the capacity, this human property which allows man to observe himself in action, in activity. Man can see himself in the act of seeing, in the act of acting, in the act of thinking. Feel himself feeling, think himself thinking.”
– Augusto Boal

Hence, Singapore Repertory Theatre seeks to encapsulate this with the objective to allow the audience to better identify signs of someone struggling with suicidal thoughts and /or open up to share their own stories and allow for meaningful conversations to begin.

Mental Health, Let’s Talk: Suicidality is a public conversational session by the campaign – The Elephant in Our Community on public education of mental health by Shan You. It aims to educate and advocate on suicidality through conversation with persons impacted by it. On 8 December, learn about the real-life issues and consequences of suicidality from the lived experiences of individuals and families.

Should you know someone struggling with suicidal ideation we invite you to come down this Sunday, the 8th of December to join the conversation and talk about the elephant in the community.

Date/Time: 8 December 2019, Sunday, 12:30pm - 5:15pm
Venue: Aliwal Arts Centre, 28 Aliwal St, Singapore 199918

Admission is Free to members of the public aged 18 and above.
Pre-event registration is required.

Click here to register for the event.