The Theatre of the Oppressed in Practice Today

How has the legacy of Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed been interpreted around the world? What does it look like in different working contexts? This book provides an accessible introduction to the political and artistic principles Boal's techniques are founded on, tracking exemplary practice around the globe. Authored by one of the key exponents of the Theatre of the Oppressed, the volume equips readers with a practical grounding in the universal, transferable principles of Boal's work.

Augusto Boal (1931-2009) was one of the most influential theatre directors of the 20th and early 21st centuries. His radical manifesto for the worldwide Theatre of the Oppressed movement has had an enduring and evolving impact on performance studies and the fields of education and community development.

Using detailed contemporary case histories, theatre artist, scholar and activist, Ali Campbell demonstrates how the underlying principles of Boal's practice are today enacted in the practices of - among others - an urban network (Theatre of the Oppressed NYC); a rural and developmental theatre organization (Jana Sanskriti, West Bengal); Boal's original company CTO Rio (Brazil) and a theatre-based group led by Learning-Disabled adults in the UK (The Lawnmowers Independent Theatre Company). The book concludes with a series of conversations between Campbell and international exponents of the work, envisioning futures for the Theatre of the Oppressed in the shifting political, educational and artistic context of the new century.