I can
“I Can” is a forum theatre play developed/devised through an intensive workshop organized in Mandala Theatre.
The play collects three different stories to weave in one series of performance. Three scenes dealing with different forms of oppression/discrimination in society: from boss to staff, from an officer to an intervening witness, from male members of society to a freshly married woman and from established (male) artists to a struggling actress are presented to the stage. It further portrays how people are forced to oppress others without being aware of their inner voices.
The play was created in a participatory way through a workshop with the participating artists. The audience, in this play, is invited to watch, to participate, to get in touch and to express their ideas how to change the discrimination shown on stage.
Forum Theatre
Forum Theatre was developed in Brazil in the 1970s by Augusto Boal and CTO Rio de Janeiro and spread out as an innovative participatory form of theatre to change society and transform conflicts all over the world. It shows discrimination and oppression and asks the audience how to change from the position of the oppressed character. In a participatory way creating dialogues artists and audiences are looking for constructive ways to find different, empowering ways to deal with and to solve problems.
You can read more about forum theatre here.
