'Burn an image in their head': Evaluating the effectiveness of a play on bullying

Bullying is endemic in schools and may have a damaging impact on its victims. This paper reports on the development, presentation and evaluation of a powerful, purpose-made play - Burnt - which was written by Stephen Davis. The evaluation utilised qualitative program evaluation. as a methodology to evaluate the impact of the program on participants' understanding of the dynamics of bullying, the creation of empathy for the victim, the creation of audience identification with the bystanders and the identification of dilemmas and issues associated with the resolution of bullying. The play was performed to more than 2,300 young people in 15 schools representing city, coastal, rural and mining communities. All participants completed a post-program survey. Data revealed that the program was successful in developing empathy with the victim, and participants' identification with the bystanders. The majority of students indicated that the play was realistic and that, in their opinion, the program could help to stop bullying.