ABSTRACT
BOAL: I did regular theatre-plays on agrarian reform-before I had to leave Brazil in 1971. But the first time I created special techniques for a political campaign was when I returned to Brazil in 1986. The man who invited me back, Darcy Ribeiro, the vice-governor of the state of Rio, was running for governor. He had given me the financial means of doing the “Factory of Popular Theatre.”1 Ribeiro was not a member of my party, the Workers’ Party, but I knew my party was not going to win. Ribeiro was good too, and he had a chance, so I decided to support him. I used something that was not exactly invisible or forum theatre but what we called “theatrical commandos.” You see, Brizola was then the governor of Rio, and he wanted to speak on Ribeiro’s behalf, but he was forbidden to speak on the radio or television.
