Legislative Theatre

Augusto Boal's reputation is now moving beyond the realms of theatre and drama therapy, bringing him to the attention of a wider public. Legislative Theatre 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.
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 Legislative Theatre Boal creates new, theatrical, and truly revolutionary ways of involving everyone in the democratic process.
This book includes:
* a full explanation of the genesis and principles of Legislative Theatre
* a description of the process in operation in Rio
* Boal's essays, speeches and lectures on popular theatre, Paolo Freire, cultural activism, the point of playwrighting, and much else besides.

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;