Most punters are generally put off by audience participation. Rules is a new show by an experimental company who unapologetically ignores the sometimes squeamish nature of the audience and propels them into engaging with gameshow-like activities.

When brought into the boxy and claustrophobic room, the audience is immediately confronted by a masked taskmaster, or perhaps teacher is the more appropriate term considering the classroom like themes in the show, who commands the room and the evenings activities. Assistants to the teacher proceed to numbering and then putting the audience through a series of tests. They start simple, stepping over a rope and lifting arms but become more difficult and start to receive pass or fail grades. Although there are some Squid Games-like vibes in the room, fortunately those who receive fail grades are only required to sit down and watch the rest of the assessments.

The show, or rather, the activities are interesting. Full of subtext, it’s a little difficult to identify what the message in the show is in the performance itself. Is it a commentary about the gamification of life, the isolation of communities or perhaps the increasing authoritarian leaders permeating society in an age of global conflict? Or maybe it is the pervasiveness of a rigid work ethic and strict social culture in Asia today? It is not immediately clear; however, the participatory nature of the show was, on the whole, a lot of fun. There were moments of almost chaos and some difficulty in guiding the audience but this seemed to fuel the audience. The clear willingness of the audience to participate was clear and to convince an entire audience to participate in such an experimental show is a hard task at the best of times but the company pulled it off easily, kudos to them for succeeding in their task. 

If you are looking of a great discussion on the complexities of our modern life, you may walk away feeling a little unfulfilled, however, this show was a hell of a good time.