Legislative Theatre

Included among Augusto Boal's many awards are: OBIE Award (1971) Officier des Arts et des Lettres, Ministry of Culture, France (1981) Medaille Pablo Picasso, UNESCO (1994) Outstanding Cultural Contribution, Academy of the Arts, Queensland University of Technology (1995) Lifetime Achievement Award, American Theatre Association in Higher Education (1997) Prix du Merite, Ministry of Culture, France (1997) Premi de Honor, Institutet de Teatre, Barcelona, Spain (1998).

The latest stage in the Boal project, this is an attempt to use theatre within a political system to create a truer form of democracy. This text includes a full description of the principles of Legislative Theatre and a description of the process in Rio.

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.