ABSTRACT

This dynamic book offers a comprehensive companion to the theory and practice of Theatre of the Oppressed. Developed by Brazilian director and theorist Augusto Boal, these theatrical forms invite people to mobilize their knowledge and rehearse struggles against oppression.

Featuring a diverse array of voices (many of them as yet unheard in the academic world), the book hosts dialogues on the following questions, among others:

  • Why and how did Theatre of the Oppressed develop?
  • What are the differences between the 1970s (when Theatre of the Oppressed began) and today?
  • How has Theatre of the Oppressed been shaped by local and global shifts of the last 40-plus years?
  • Why has Theatre of the Oppressed spread or "multiplied" across so many geographic, national, and cultural borders?
  • How has Theatre of the Oppressed been shaped by globalization, "development," and neoliberalism?
  • What are the stakes, challenges, and possibilities of Theatre of the Oppressed today?
  • How can Theatre of the Oppressed balance practical analysis of what is with ambitious insistence on what could be?
  • How can Theatre of the Oppressed hope, but concretely?

Broad in scope yet rich in detail, The Routledge Companion to Theatre of the Oppressed contains practical and critical content relevant to artists, activists, teachers, students, and researchers.

chapter |12 pages

Introduction

Theatre of the Oppressed and its time(s)

part I|1 pages

Roots

part |1 pages

Genealogies

chapter 1|7 pages

New York and After

Gassner, realism, and the “method”

chapter 2|11 pages

Arena Theatre, Brazil, Boal

Between farces and allegories

chapter 5|7 pages

Epic Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed

“Brecht and, modestly, [Boal]!”

chapter 6|8 pages

Paulo Freire and Augusto Boal

Praxis, poetry, and utopia

part |1 pages

Critical frames

part |1 pages

Oppression

part |1 pages

From roots to branches

chapter 14|7 pages

Games

Demechanization and serious fun

chapter 15|6 pages

Newspaper Theatre

The oldest branch of TO in the post-print present

chapter 16|6 pages

Image Theatre

A liberatory practice for “making thought visible”

chapter 17|6 pages

Invisible Theatre

From origins to current uses

chapter 18|12 pages

Forum Theatre

A dramaturgy of collective questioning

chapter 19|7 pages

The Rainbow of Desire

Boal and doubt

chapter 20|8 pages

Legislative Theatre

Can theatre reinvent politics?

chapter 21|6 pages

Aesthetics of the Oppressed

Self-criticism and re-foundation of Theatre of the Oppressed

part II|1 pages

Ground shifts

part |1 pages

Changing landscapes in late capitalism

chapter 23|14 pages

Indignant Democracy

Problems of legitimization in neoliberal capitalism

chapter 24|11 pages

Art and the Wreckage

part |1 pages

Critical reflections on the early multiplication of Theatre of the Oppressed

chapter 28|7 pages

Theatre of The oppressed, Not Theatre for The Oppressed

Origins of Jana Sanskriti and evolutions of TO in India

chapter 29|5 pages

Early Conferences in the Us

PTO and its roots in the academy

chapter 30|5 pages

Theatre of the Oppressed in Senegal

TO “proposed that we dare ourselves to dream”

part III|1 pages

Contemporary practice

chapter 31|14 pages

Theatre of the Oppressed in Neoliberal Times

From Che Guevara to the Uber driver

part |1 pages

Spaces

chapter 32|5 pages

Workshops

The modularization of TO pedagogy

chapter 33|7 pages

Gatherings

Between market pressure and “critical generosity”

chapter 34|6 pages

Political Organizations

La Dignidad—theatre and politics in movement

chapter 35|8 pages

Schools

Theatre of the Oppressed with youth

chapter 36|6 pages

Ngos

Challenges and limitations

chapter 37|12 pages

Therapy

Theatre of the Oppressed and/as therapeutic praxis

chapter 38|12 pages

Community

Notion and feeling, goal and strategy

chapter 39|10 pages

Academia

Theatre of the Oppressed in colleges and universities

part |1 pages

Practices in context

chapter 40|4 pages

Jana Sanskriti

Continuous presence, aesthetical rigor, and political and social movement

chapter 41|6 pages

FÉminisme-Enjeux

Challenges and paradoxes of a feminist Theatre of the Oppressed company

chapter 42|7 pages

Peles Negras, MÁscaras Negras (Black Skins, Black Masks)

Maria 28, racism, and domestic work

chapter 43|7 pages

Mstb (Roofless Movement of Bahia)

An experience of theatre and struggle

chapter 44|6 pages

Forn De Teatre Pa’tothom

A space for projects, training, and social struggle

chapter 45|8 pages

Gto Montevideo

A theatre within a campaign

chapter 47|6 pages

Theatre of the Oppressed Nyc

Radical partnerships on the ground in New York City

chapter |2 pages

Epilogue

Message by Augusto Boal for World Theatre Day 2009