Forum Theatre
Boal's signature form — actors perform a short play depicting an oppression, then invite audience members ('spect-actors') to replace the protagonist and try interventions.
Known for
- Origin story: a woman in the audience once came on stage to show an actor what she meant — Boal called that the birth of the spect-actor.
- The play ends badly on purpose — the audience's job is to find a way out. The Joker facilitates replacements.
- Not a debate. Spect-actors must physically play the intervention; words without action do not count.
- Boal's 1973 *Theatre of the Oppressed* is the canonical source; the form has been adopted by community-organizing groups worldwide.
Connected to
People
augusto boal