Girl Code Theatre's piece "Coming Home with Me" uses verbatim interviews (the exact words of real people) to shed light on sexual harassment and assault, particularly in bars and nightclubs. The main message of the piece being that sexual harassment is not a joke and is certainly not okay.
The piece uses a lot of theatrical techniques to tell the story, including breaking the fourth wall (talking directly to the audience), thought tracking (describing their thoughts and feelings aloud) and narration. The piece overall was done to a very high technical standard but more importantly than that, it uses these techniques to illustrate and highlight the lives of real people and how sexual harassment can affect not only the 'victims' but also the people who may try and stop such a situation.
The piece was arranged like little snapshots of stories. Some of these included a set up similar to how the interviews probably went, some of it was set in the toilets of a nightclub, and there was a scene based on current stories in the news and media
Needless to say, this piece is emotional, thought-provoking and is probably not a piece for anyone who has been affected or may be affected by the sensitive topics explored in this piece as it explicitly describes real experiences of sexual harassment. But, if you would not be affected too much by the performance, it is definitely worth watching. It really is eye opening. Girl Code Theatre really did the verbatim interviews justice and portrayed the stories in an authentic, genuine way.
The piece left me and many members of the audience feeling quite emotional due to its sensitive nature. However, I also left with a better awareness of the people around me everyday and with some practical guidance around how I can stop a sexual assault take place or reduce the impact of it. These tips include pretending to know the person who looks uncomfortable or may be in a situation where they have been or may be sexually harassed. This will give them a way out of the situation. Alternatively, if it is safe to do so, I could ask the guy what the time is to distract them.
I think that, above all else, communicates how crucial and important this piece of theatre is.
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