Boal Revisited – Transformative Theatre in Youth Work

From its beginnings in Brazil in the 1960s and 70s, the work of Augusto Boal has nowadays spread to over 80 countries in the world. Inspired by the emancipatory educational work of Paulo Freire, Boal adapted the language of theatre as a tool for transformative action, aimed at empowering marginalized members of society and increase their ability to shape their living environment.

Given a proximity in aims and underlying educational philosophy many elements of his work also have become part of non-formal education approaches in the European Youth Work scene.   This includes among others the concept of Forum Theatre, with its dissolution of the boundaries between actors and spectators, as well as the Image Theatre, which provides a performative way of exploring abstract concepts. While the importance of these approaches should not be underestimated, the limited reception risks to omit the vast richness of the work of Boal as well as the numerous further developments by people inspired by him.

Given this context, the training course “Boal Revisited – Transformative Theatre in Youth Work” is dedicated to bringing this richness to the surface again and to explore the potential of old and new transformative theatre approaches for dealing with contemporary challenges for young people in Europe.

The focus of the training will be put on versatile methods out of the canonized reception context, which can be applied to a multitude of youth work topics.  It will gather 26 youth workers and youth leaders from 11 countries for a 7-day in depth exploration of Boal and beyond.

Topics and methods covered will include among others:  Legislative Theatre | Rainbows and Cops in the Head | Newspaper and Media Theatre | Image Story based on Mooli Lahad