Legislative Theatre: Using Performance to Make Politics
London: Routledge (1998), x, 207 pp.
ISBN 9780415182416 (pbk); 9780203984895 (ebook)
"This work is an attempt to use theatre in a political context to create a truer form of democracy - a method to engage the populace. At the heart of Boal's method of Forum Theatre - which is already used in diverse contexts - is the dual meaning of the verb "to act": to perform and take action. In 'Legislative Theatre' he takes one stage further his concept of the "spect-actor" - the spectator who intervenes in an unresolved scenario on stage and attempts to break a depicted cycle of oppression. As a politician in his native Rio de Janeiro, Boal demonstrated that his ideas of mixing theatre and politics could generate needed legislation and social change. This amazing work includes full explanation of the development and principles of legislative theatre and a description of the process in operation in Rio. Also included are essays, speeches, and lectures on Popular Theatre, Paulo Freire, cultural activism, and the point of playwriting that Boal has written since his involvement with Brazilian Parliament." (Intermediate Technology Bookshop 2000 catalogue)
THE LEGISLATIVE THEATRE BOOK
Prologue: Monologue and dialogue, 2
1 History: the Theatre of the Oppressed returns to its roots— Brazil and politics, 5
2 The proposition: theatre as politics and transitive democracy as theatre, 15
3 The context: how and where is this experiment being carried out? 19
4 The structure, 31
5 A compact course on playwriting and theatre arts: the tools of our task, 43
6 The show and the community, 68
7 Laws promulgated during the mandate: and one which wasn’t, 81
Appendices
I The history of the Theatre of the Oppressed nuclei, 84
II The dreamt future, 89
III Symbolism in Munich, 92
THE ‘NO-ONE HERE IS AN ASS!’ BOOK
Prologue: ‘No-one here is an ass!’ 98
1 Paulo Freire, my last father, 100
2 Clementina’s turn, 104
3 Saudades for the chicken thieves of yesteryear, 107
4 Elizete: the woman and the mirror, 110
5 The Devil as muse of inspiration, 115
6 Resignation: virtuous crime or criminal virtue? 119
7 Memory and the torture chamber, 122
8 One hideous crime hides the hideousness of another, 126
9 The Devil and the canny man, 128
10 ‘Human rights’ are human, 131
11 Romeo and Juliet: a story of hatred and betrayal, 136
12 The suicide of the wind, 147
13 The laws of the market, the law of the lion, 151
14 The show of the dream and the dream as show, 156
15 Family: a playscript, 163
CATEGORIES OF POPULAR THEATRE
Prologue 173
1 The first category of popular theatre: by the people and for the people, 175
2 The second category of popular theatre: from the popular perspective but aimed at another audience, 182
3 The third category of popular theatre: from an anti-people perspective and aimed at the people—populist theatre! 186
4 The fourth category of popular theatre: newspaper theatre, 191
AFTERWORD: THE METAMORPHOSES OF THE DEVIL
The individual and the twenty-first century, 203
Prologue: Monologue and dialogue, 2
1 History: the Theatre of the Oppressed returns to its roots— Brazil and politics, 5
2 The proposition: theatre as politics and transitive democracy as theatre, 15
3 The context: how and where is this experiment being carried out? 19
4 The structure, 31
5 A compact course on playwriting and theatre arts: the tools of our task, 43
6 The show and the community, 68
7 Laws promulgated during the mandate: and one which wasn’t, 81
Appendices
I The history of the Theatre of the Oppressed nuclei, 84
II The dreamt future, 89
III Symbolism in Munich, 92
THE ‘NO-ONE HERE IS AN ASS!’ BOOK
Prologue: ‘No-one here is an ass!’ 98
1 Paulo Freire, my last father, 100
2 Clementina’s turn, 104
3 Saudades for the chicken thieves of yesteryear, 107
4 Elizete: the woman and the mirror, 110
5 The Devil as muse of inspiration, 115
6 Resignation: virtuous crime or criminal virtue? 119
7 Memory and the torture chamber, 122
8 One hideous crime hides the hideousness of another, 126
9 The Devil and the canny man, 128
10 ‘Human rights’ are human, 131
11 Romeo and Juliet: a story of hatred and betrayal, 136
12 The suicide of the wind, 147
13 The laws of the market, the law of the lion, 151
14 The show of the dream and the dream as show, 156
15 Family: a playscript, 163
CATEGORIES OF POPULAR THEATRE
Prologue 173
1 The first category of popular theatre: by the people and for the people, 175
2 The second category of popular theatre: from the popular perspective but aimed at another audience, 182
3 The third category of popular theatre: from an anti-people perspective and aimed at the people—populist theatre! 186
4 The fourth category of popular theatre: newspaper theatre, 191
AFTERWORD: THE METAMORPHOSES OF THE DEVIL
The individual and the twenty-first century, 203
