Legislative Theatre (Augusto Boal) - Softcover

Boal, Augusto

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415182417 ISBN 13: 9780415182416

Publisher: Routledge, 1998

Synopsis

Augusto Boal's reputation is now moving beyond the realms of theatre and drama therapy, bringing him to the attention of a wider public. Legislative Theatre is the latest and most remarkable stage in his work. 'Legislative Theatre' is an attempt to use Boal's method of 'Forum Theatre' within a political system to create a truer form of democracy. It is an extraordinary experiment in the potential of theatre to affect social change.
At the heart of his method of Forum Theatre is the dual meaning of the verb 'to act': to perform and to take action. Forum Theatre invites members of the audience to take the stage and decide the outcome, becoming an integral part of the performance. As a politician in his native Rio de Janeiro, Boal used Forum Theatre to motivate the local populace in generating relevant legislation. In Legislative Theatre Boal creates new, theatrical, and truly revolutionary ways of involving everyone in the democratic process.
This book includes:
* a full explanation of the genesis and principles of Legislative Theatre
* a description of the process in operation in Rio
* Boal's essays, speeches and lectures on popular theatre, Paolo Freire, cultural activism, the point of playwrighting, and much else besides.

About this title

About the Author

Augusto Boal is a theatre director, dramatist, theorist, writer and teacher. He is the founder of the international movement ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’ and was Vereador (Member of the Legislative Chamber) for Rio de Janeiro from 1993 to 1996. He is the author of Theatre of the Oppressed, Games for Actors and Non-Actors, and Rainbow of Desire. He lives in Rio de Janeiro. Adrian Jackson is Associate Director of the London Bubble Theatre Company, Artistic Director of Cardboard Citizens, and a freelance director and teacher.

Reviews

Boal is a Brazilian activist who has devoted his career to effecting social change through theater. This book is an account of his most recent efforts, especially during his term as a legislator. Growing out of his Theatre of the Oppressed, an international theater movement giving artistic and social voice to the otherwise voiceless, Legislative Theatre is an interactive dramaturgy. Working locally, Boal gets citizens to articulate their concerns by developing plays that are then presented locally and to larger audiences. The consequence of performance is a theatrical response from the audience, the re-actor. The discussion that follows can lead to proposed legislation addressing the concerns that generated the play in the first place. According to the author, this forms a social bond, causes discussion, and results in action. His book is also interactive, seeking responses from readers to help produce a finished work. This loosely organized how-to is filled out with speeches, articles, plays, and anecdotes. Recommended for theater history and theory collections.?Thomas E. Luddy, Salem State Coll., MA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0415182417
• ISBN 13: 9780415182416
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272