Aesthetics of the Oppressed

For Augusto Boal, the experience of Aesthetics of the Oppressed, which was performed between 2000 and 2009 with the Center of the Theatre of the Oppressed team, represented a true revolution: the re-foundation of the Theatre of the Oppressed. The Theatre of the Oppressed appeared in the early 1970s, in a Latin American context of political resistance, steeped in the conviction that specific problems are linked to structural issues. Aesthetic development–while broadening the understanding of the problem within its context–does not, however, necessarily lead to the immediate evolution of dramaturgy itself. In October 2009, at the Austrian festival, Coisas do Genero was highlighted as a play and, at the same time, criticized as a Forum Theatre production. The criticism focused on the aesthetic plasticity of the show, revealing the fear that this aesthetic conception might undermine the discussion taking place during the Forum.