São Paulo – Sudan and Palestine are going to participate this month in a meeting about the Theatre of the Oppressed in Rio de Janeiro, capital of the state of the same name. The Theatre of the Oppressed is a methodology in which theatre is used as a tool for discussing daily life and the intellectual evolution of the participants. The theatre line, created by the Brazilian Augusto Boal, recently deceased, is followed by several groups outside Brazil, and that is why the Centre of the Theatre of the Oppressed (CTO), which coordinates the actions and is located in Rio de Janeiro, has decided to promote this first international meeting.
According to information supplied by the CTO, activists from 22 different countries have confirmed their attendance. Among them there are people who carry out theatrical projects using Boal’s methodology in Sudan and Palestine. From Sudan, Justin John Billy, of the Siha Network group, will attend the meeting, and from Palestine, Iman Aoun and Edward Muallem, of the Asthar group. The Palestinian group started following the Brazilian line of theatre in 2002. In Sudan, the works started after the CTO taught a course in the region, in November 2006. Another Arab country, Egypt, has also hosted workshops under the methodology of the Theatre of the Oppressed.
This month’s meeting, entitled International Conference of the Theatre of the Oppressed, should bring together, in addition to representatives from Sudan and Palestine, people from Canada, the United States, Puerto Rico, Mozambique, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, France, the Netherlands, England, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Israel, Pakistan, India, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. The activities will take place from July 20th to 26th, at Conjunto Cultural da Caixa, a cultural space of the Brazilian federal savings bank, which comprises theatres Nelson Rodrigues and Arena. Activities will also be held at the Centre of the Theatre of the Oppressed headquarters.
The conference is also open to the public, and enrolment can be made until July 23rd. During the meeting, there will be panels to discuss the impact of the Theatre of the Oppressed in various regions of the world and other subject matters, an international screening of videos about the works, spectacles and exhibitions of productions in the field. From July 24th to 26th, the meeting is dedicated only to adepts of the methodology of the Theatre of the Oppressed.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
