​In the day-to-day hustle and bustle of life, how often do we take time to have conversations with other people, much less conversations based on real connection? 

In HOT POT TALK: Theatre & the Arts, we push this question further, and ask if we can have conversations based on real connection with people we don’t know very well or whose worlds may be quite different from ours. How can different worlds encounter each other, and specifically, how can we bridge theatre and society? 

Come and join the team in this theatrical journey into conversation – let’s play games together, dive into discussions of commonalities and disconnections, as well as share mutual stories of ‘why’, so that we can collectively expand our worlds. 

Responses to HOT POT TALK: Theatre & the Arts

“… a hot pot, … best illustrated our desire for the audience to be part of the ‘cooking’ process – they are not just consuming something we serve them, but ‘cooking’ and ‘eating’ together with us.”

— Gwen Pew & Daniel Teo, “Interview with Chong Gua Khee”, Centre 42

“As the crowd warmed and the soup of conversation was ‘stirred’, there was almost no limit to the topics that were raised, and as time went by, it became easier and easier to talk. Even if there are no easy answers to the issues brought up, the importance of Hot Pot Talk lies in how it has pioneered what is hopefully the first of many new opportunities for members of the public to engage with artists and find in such ‘performances’ an avenue that can be surprisingly hard to find in today’s world beyond the realm of Internet forums and Facebook threads.

Much like an actual hot pot, Hot Pot Talk effectively takes audience members’ opinions, or perhaps, their entire being, and through a process of ‘stewing’ their thoughts, everyone comes out a little different from when they first stepped in.”

— Bakchormeeboy, “Review: Hot Pot Talk – Theatre and the Arts”, Bakchormeeboy.com

“After the ‘performance’ ended, everyone gathered outside the theatre space and chatted for a long time – a testament to its success. This sort of experiment has huge potential, and I look forward to its future possibilities. Perhaps it offers a model of how to create a safe space to discuss all sorts of difficult topics that are not easy to broach in daily life, and even societal issues that are avoided.”

“[“演出”结束后，大家聚集在剧场外谈天，久久不离开，说明了它的成功。这样的实验具有非常大的潜能，让我期待它未来的可能性。也许它提供了一种模式：为我们制造一个安全的空间讨论各种更为艰难、平时难以启齿、甚至避而不谈的社会议题。]”

— Neo Hai Bin, 《不简单的火锅对话》, Centre 42