What is Theatre of the Oppressed? Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) is a theory and practice systematised by political theatre activist Augusto Boal during the 1970s in the struggle against the Brazilian dictatorship. It later developed in Latin America with other forms of theatrical action based on concrete analysis of concrete situations. Inspired by the educational theories of Paulo Freire, Boal used TO with workers and oppressed groups throughout Latin America and then in Europe, before returning to Brazil.

The Theatre of the Oppressed is the dramatisation of class struggle. It reveals exploitation and ideological contradictions and points to possibilities for organised and collective action to transform the world. The methodology is based on interaction between popular movements, communities and participants, who together seek effective solutions in the pursuit of social justice and collective transformation. The methodology allows the oppressed the opportunity to appropriate the means of theatrical production and expand their possibilities for creative expression. Human beings do not make theatre, they are theatre. Thus, everything that is produced belongs to those who produce it, and so it is with art and culture.

In this Theatre of the Oppressed workshop, we continue a materialist and dialectical theatre, and you will become familiar with new games and techniques based on the work carried out by Geo Britto at the Popular Theatre School (ETP) with Brazilian social and political movements. We will work with Brecht’s models using Boal’s techniques, which we use today in the anti-fascist struggle in Brazil. The Popular Theatre School (ETP) is a space for social movements committed to developing their cultural fronts as a tool for political discussion. Experimentation with theatre techniques aims to discuss forms of oppression, challenge social contradictions and train political agents capable of intervening in their movements and communities. The ETP uses Theatre of the Oppressed, Political Theatre, Agitprop and other languages of Popular Culture with various popular theatre groups in the struggle against fascism and in an anti-capitalist proposal.

Geo Britto – Founder and member of the Coordinating Council of the Popular Theatre School (ETP). He has worked with the Theatre of the Oppressed for 35 years, 20 of them with Augusto Boal. He has given lectures, workshops and theatrical presentations in Palestine, Bolivia, Mozambique, Egypt, India, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Germany, England, Sweden, Canada and the United States. He holds a Master’s degree in Arts from UFF, is pursuing a PhD in Theatre at USP and is the father of twins. Geo Britto – Founder and member of the Coordinating Council of the Popular Theatre School (ETP). He launched the book Augusto Boal e a Formação do Teatro do Oprimido (Augusto Boal and the Making of the Theatre of the Oppressed), which addresses the materialist and dialectical legacies of how Boal arrived at the Theatre of the Oppressed. The book won the award for third best book by the National Library and is currently being translated into English and Spanish. He is also the father of twins.

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