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by Augusto Boal (Author), Adrian Jackson (Translator)
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.
Author Biography
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.
