Legislative Theatre

<p>Augusto Boal's reputation is now moving beyond the realms of theatre and drama therapy, bringing him to the attention of a wider public. <em>Legislative Theatre</em> is the latest and most remarkable stage in his work. 'Legislative Theatre' is an attempt to use Boal's method of 'Forum Theatre' within a political system to create a truer form of democracy. It is an extraordinary experiment in the potential of theatre to affect social change.<br> At the heart of his method of Forum Theatre is the dual meaning of the verb 'to act': to perform and to take action. Forum Theatre invites members of the audience to take the stage and decide the outcome, becoming an integral part of the performance. As a politician in his native Rio de Janeiro, Boal used Forum Theatre to motivate the local populace in generating relevant legislation. In <em>Legislative Theatre</em> Boal creates new, theatrical, and truly revolutionary ways of involving everyone in the democratic process.<br> This book includes:<br> * a full explanation of the genesis and principles of Legislative Theatre<br> * a description of the process in operation in Rio<br> * Boal's essays, speeches and lectures on popular theatre, Paolo Freire, cultural activism, the point of playwrighting, and much else besides.</p> Part 1 The Legislative Theatre Book; Prologue: Monologue and dialogue; Chapter 1 History; Chapter 2 The proposition; Chapter 3 The context; Chapter 4 The structure; Chapter 5 A compact course on playwriting and theatre arts; Chapter 6 The show and the community; Chapter 7 Laws promulgated during the mandate; Appendices; Part 2 The ‘No-one Here is an Ass!’ Book; Prologue ‘No-one here is an ass!’; Chapter 8 1 Paulo Freire, my last father; Chapter 9 2 Clementina's turn; Chapter 10 3 Saudades for the chicken thieves of yesteryear; Chapter 11 4 Elizete; Chapter 12 5 The Devil as muse of inspiration; Chapter 13 6 Resignation; Chapter 14 7 Memory and the torture chamber; Chapter 15 8 One hideous crime hides the hideousness of another; Chapter 16 9 The Devil and the canny man; Chapter 17 10 ‘Human rights’ are human; Chapter 18 11 Romeo and Juliet; Chapter 19 12 The suicide of the wind; Chapter 20 13 The laws of the market, the law of the lion; Chapter 21 14 The show of the dream and the dream as show; Chapter 22 15 Family; Part 3 Categories of Popular Theatre; Prologue; Chapter 23 1 The first category of popular theatre By the people and for the people; Chapter 24 2 The second category of popular theatre; Chapter 25 3 The third category of popular theatre; Chapter 26 4 The fourth category of popular theatre; Afterword: The Metamorphoses of the Devil; The individual and the twenty-first century;