Theatre of the Oppressed Intensive

THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED INTENSIVE

 29 September to 3 October 2025 - Monday to Friday - 4:00-8:00 pm

In this workshop, you will learn how to use theatre to make sense of difficult life situations and will gain the strength and confidence to deal with circumstances of injustice in your personal life, workplace, family setting or local community. Our aim is to encourage debate through the language of theatre, present alternatives and empower people to take the lead and become the central characters in their own life stories.

By acting out rather than just talking about challenging episodes that happen to people in their daily routines, you will develop your critical thinking, team-building and problem-solving capabilities. Through theatre, you can take risks, analyse issues from different perspectives, and share spaces and experiences with the other participants.

First developed by Brazilian theatre director Augusto Boal in the 1970s, Theatre of the Oppressed is a very influential instrument for individual mindfulness and wellbeing, conflict resolution, community building, social and political activism, and government legislation. It has been used worldwide to rethink oppression situations and effect transformation in people’s lives and their communities.

This week-long intensive includes games and group exercises to develop the physical senses, rhythms, sounds, space awareness, relationships, memory, emotions and imagination.

We will focus on two theatrical styles developed by Augusto Boal: IMAGE THEATRE and FORUM THEATRE. The first involves a series of exercises designed to reveal the hidden truths about societies and cultures without resorting to the spoken word. Forum theatre is a theatrical game in which a possible solution to a problem is enacted by the audience.

Through practical activities, discussions and a historical overview of Boal’s TO methodology, participants will have an in-depth experience of how Image Theatre and Forum Theatre can be a tool for social reflection, action and change. There will also be opportunities for participants to engage as actors, spect-actors and jokers.

The workshop is led by D.I.V.E. Theatre Collective’s Artistic Director Cesar Genaro, who was born and trained in Brazil, having used and disseminated TO’s techniques throughout his career as an actor and director in Brazil and Australia.

Cost: $290 (Early Bird – until 7 September 2025) / $330 - $315 (Concession)