Forum Theatre

Augusto Boal

We are thrilled to be offering a Forum Theatre workshop as part of our Solas Festival 2011 programme. We're particularly keen to encourage young people to take part, but the session will be open to all.

Forum Theatre, a kind of 'Theatre of the Oppressed', was created by the Brazilian director, writer and politician Augusto Boal in the 1950s and has since been utilised all over the world. This interactive form of drama, explores challenging themes - particularly discrimination and oppression - and encourages participants to stop the action and try to change its course.

We're delighted that Hannah McLean, who was trained in the art of Forum Theatre by Augusto Boal's own son, is coming to Solas to lead this demanding and thought-provoking workshop. 

Here's what Hannah has to say about it:

"Forum Theatre is a tool for change in people’s lives. It encourages participants to explore and tackle their own oppression and that which surrounds them, by empowering participants to discuss issues such as stigma and discrimination with other people who may have similar experiences. It allows the participants to test out ways in which these barriers can be overcome in a safe and creative environment. 

As part of the process the participants learn how to facilitate Forum Theatre themselves so that when the ‘experiment’ finishes, they have the skills and confidence to lead other people. Members of the audience during a Forum Theatre performance piece or workshop become ‘spect-actors’ and are encouraged by the group to change the ‘action’ by becoming an actor in the piece for a scene. This encourages the audience to take ownership of the performance."

Hannah McLean is Project Manager of Glasgow's CAOS (Community Arts; Open Space) and runs regular Forum Theatre sessions with a range of groups, including young people and vulnerable adults. You can join her workshop at Solas on the afternoon of Sunday 26th June.