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Developing social theatre performances for young people with fewer opportunities is very important. Theatre activities favor the integration of youngsters from disadvantaged families and create opportunities for their participation and development. Since 2018, Teatro Metaphora has been working with the Theatre of the Oppressed methodology (Forum, image, legislative, newspaper theatre, etc.) developed by Brazilian Augusto Boal. This is an interactive type of theatre that tackles real-life oppression in its various forms and aims to bring social change, by empowering the oppressed and the people around them.
About Teatro Metaphora:Teatro Metaphora – Associação de Amigos das Artes is a non-profit association, founded in 2009 with the purpose to develop cultural and educational activities for the benefit of the community. Its objectives are to improve the social and personal competencies of children, youth, and adults through non-formal education principles. The organization’s activities are an essential part of the overall strategy for Madeira to be a creative community, and the organization itself is a meeting point for innovation and change, aimed at strengthening the excellence of Madeira Island. Teatro Metaphora promotes equal opportunities, inclusion, active citizenship, and participation of children, youth, and adults. Its main actions can be grouped into three distinctive segments:
1) A wide range of activities and workshops related to sustainable development, natural heritage, recycling, climate change, and environmental best practices;
2) National and international projects under local, national, and European programs (Erasmus+; European Solidarity Corps; Creative Europe; others);
3) Producing and participating in cultural activities of various artistic disciplines, contributing thereby to the development and dissemination of cultural heritage.
Forum theatre is a type of theatre created by the innovative and influential film director practitioner Augusto Boal, one of the techniques under the umbrella term of Theatre of the Oppressed (TO). This relates to the engagement of spectators influencing and engaging with the performance as both spectators and actors, termed “spect-actors”, with the power to stop and change the performance. As part of TO, the issues dealt with in forum theatre are often related to areas of social justice with aims to explore solutions to oppression featured in the performance.
