'The Theater of The Oppressed' - A Very Brief Introduction

'The theater of the Oppressed' originated in Brazil during the late fifties by Augusto Boal.
Boal believed that theater should be performed for the people and by the people. Not by the elite.

During that time, communism oppressed society. Therefore the 'invisible theater' was popular. Short plays would be performed in the streets. of which actors would carefully prepare short scenes in order to bring light to social  and political situations. As a result people could react and initiate open discussions.

Boal further develops this technique by putting on plays in theaters that demonstrated every day struggles (i.e. domestic violence). He would then ask the audience their opinion and encourage them to express how they would like the play to finish.
The audience was allowed to interrupt the performance and give suggestions by which the actors would improvise.

Through these techniques Boal achieves to:

1. 'Make oppressive situations and mechanisms of dominance visible'
2. Relatable to people since they are allowed to interrupt. The performance is not complete without people's interpretation 
3. By people participating,it makes it more relatable and easier for society to change these situations in their everyday life.

Boal wants to close the gap between actors and spectators in order to make a change in their everyday lives and society. The theater of the oppressed has political meaning and a wider scope of thought behind it! 

Reference: Sophie Coudray, 'The Theater of the oppressed' in Culture Matters, [follow link here], 28Jan2017, accessed on 12/12/2018.

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