Forum Theatre

Forum Theatre

1. Achieve social aims

   • Help the audience overcome their internal opression.
   • Used to tackle homlessness, family relationships, employment and health.
     • It was used to tackle real life issues
       • This would allow people to see things in a different light
   • Often used by socially excluded and disempowered groups

2. Encourages audience interaction

   • The other actors remain in character improvising their responses
   • Audience would take to the stage
     • Acts as a rehearsal for imminent occasions
       • Or to uncover and analyse alternatives in any situation
       • The actors explore the results of these choices with the audience creating a kind of theatrical debate
         • Experiences and ideas are rehearsed and shared

3. Invented in early 1970's

   • Interactive theatre
     • Had a relatively average cost for a show
       • Varies on actors and staging
     • last on average as long as a normal show with 30 mins at the end for the audience
       • Setting up and rehearsing take s usually a number of months
   • Pioneered by Augusto Boal.
     • Also known as 'Theatre of the oppressed

4. It would have an oppressed character in it

   • Scene would repeat twice
   • In the replay, a random audience member could shout "stop!"
     • They can then go up and take the place of an actor and play out a different scenario
       • With the aim of giving it a better outcome
       • Multiple different outcomes would be achieved
   • Key ideas of oppression