Legislative Theatre (Augusto Boal)

Legislative Theatre (Augusto Boal)

Augusto Boal's reputation is now moving beyond the realms of theatre and drama therapy, bringing him to the attention of a wider public. <EM>Legislative Theatre</EM> 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.<BR> 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 <EM>Legislative Theatre</EM> Boal creates new, theatrical, and truly revolutionary ways of involving everyone in the democratic process.<BR> This book includes:<BR> * a full explanation of the genesis and principles of Legislative Theatre<BR> * a description of the process in operation in Rio<BR> * Boal's essays, speeches and lectures on popular theatre, Paolo Freire, cultural activism, the point of playwrighting, and much else besides.