Theatre Activist and Revolutionary Augusto Boal
May 2nd, 2009, saw the passing of a visionary theatre artist, activist and educator. Augusto Boal, Brazilian theatre director and founder of the “Theatre of the Oppressed” (TO), has left a rich legacy of theatrical innovation and social activism in the inspired hearts and minds of theatre practitioners across the world.
Boal created the Theatre of the Oppressed techniques in the early 1960s as a way to establish a dialogue between audience, director and actors that encouraged political activism aimed at transforming oppressive realities. Seen as a threat to the dictatorship that ruled Brazil between 1964 and 1985, Boal was arrested and tortured before being exiled to Argentina. He then went on to further develop his practice in Argentina, Peru, and Europe, before returning to Brazil after the fall of the military regime.
Augusto Boal’s impact on the field of community-based art is incalculable. TO methodology is taught around the world, in universities as in community-based settings, including Theatre of the Oppressed Institutes on every continent. Boal’s ideas on theatre and empowerment changed the tools available to an entire generation of theatre artists, rejuvenating discourse around the impact of theatre in a given community. He himself worked tirelessly and to the end in teaching and enabling artists and communities worldwide, and his legacy will be felt in the thousands that now carry on his work. His passing marks the next phase of the Theatre of the Oppressed, in the physical absence of the Joker himself.
As this past March 27 saw Augusto Boal as the author of the 2009 World Theatre Day message, I share his words here with you again and reflect upon his legacy:
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If you weren’t in Montreal to see The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac last week at Theatre La Chapelle, chances are this show is coming to you.
Taylor Mac’s one-man show has hit up countless countries and endless more theatres. Named one of New York’s best performers in both 2007 and 2008 by The Village Voice and Time Out, this gender-bending surrealist evening of politically loaded humour manages to surpass any expectations that precede it.
What do I mean by that? This means what do we expect as an audience when we go to a drag show, when we hear the words political theatre, when we think performance art? Directed by award-winning solo performer himself, David Drake, Taylor Mac succeeds in building a progressive deconstruction of every preconception we may have in going to the theatre. Click to continue »
The members of Collectif Ressources d’Afrique, Édition Écosociété and their editorial board out of Montreal have been served with a SLAPP suit (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) by Canadian mining company Barrick Gold in light of the release of their upcoming publication, Noir Canada: Pillage, corruption et criminalité en Afrique.
The book launch for Noir Canada, edited by Alain Denault and the Collectif Ressources d’Afrique, was cancelled April 11, 2008, when the authors and publishers (Édition Écosociété) received letters from a law firm representing Barrick Gold. The letters alledgedly refer to apparent inaccuracies in the book.
Noir Canada is a synthesis and analysis of national and international documents (reports, books, documentaries…) detailing numerous corporate abuses implicating a number of Canadian companies in Africa, which operate with the “unfailing help of the Canadian government”.
The list of corporate abuses is long: advantageous mining contracts in the DRC, partnerships with arms dealers and mercenaries in the Great Lakes region, miners buried alive in Tanzania, an “involuntary genocide” by poisoning in Mali, brutal expropriations in Ghana, using people from the Ivory Coast for pharmaceutical testing, devastating hydroelectric projects in Senegal, the savage privatization of the railway system in West Africa…
The debate the book aims to bring into the public sphere is all the more legitimised by the regular re-investment of Canadian public funds (retirement funds, RRSPs, etc.) in these companies via the Toronto Stock Exchange.
From a press release which came out Saturday, April 12th from the Collectif: “It is understood that the financial means of a powerful mining company, compared to that of the researchers who prepared the book, permits the company to proceed by intimidation.”
(Source : le Collectif Ressources d’Afrique, Montréal, le 12 avril 2008)
A previous report on the release of this book can be listened to via Horizon2, an earlier podcast of the interview with the author airing on CIBL Radio-Montreal – 101,5 FM.
This February in Montreal, I caught up with one of our local VDay organisers, Emily Koehler. With The Vagina Monologues playing tonight Friday February 15th, and Saturday the 16th, we had a rapid-fire exchange about V to the Tenth and Montreal’s own Vday campaigners.
“We were definitely motivated to go big this year,” emphasizes Koehler. “We’re spotlighting certain monologues, and have highlighted V to the Tenth in the production’s program.”
When asked why she chose to take on this Vday campaign in Montreal, Koehler speaks of a need otherwise unmet in the Montreal community. “As a survivor of sexual assault, I take this cause to heart. There is a large network of people that Vday brings together, and their commitment is evident though a deep passion they bring to the cause.”
To date the principal Montreal Vday events have been hosted by McGill University. “I felt this didn’t accurately reflect the Montreal community as a whole. Having just graduated, I wanted to connect with the community in a larger sense. After posting on craigslist, I received a flood of contacts from both women and men. Our four core organisers started off as strangers, and are now the best of friends. We have come to experience a very personal and close circle of participants.”
What can one expect from this year’s production of The Vagina Monologues? “We are very happy with our diversity of cast. We have women who are professional actors, as well as women who have never been on stage before. Our oldest cast member is 52, and our youngest 8. Monologues will be performed in French and English, however you will hear a whole range of different accents. All these people are from different walks of life, different backgrounds, and they are all passionate about being in Montreal.”
Vday Montreal’s production of The Vagina Monologues will also feature whom Koehler calls ‘local celebrities’: Laura Roberts, author of local sex column “V for Vixen”; and a burlesque interpretation of Vday classic “Cunt”, performed by Seska Lee.
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The Vagina Monologues play Friday February 15th, and Saturday February 16th, at 8 p.m. At the Doubletree by Hilton, 505, rue Sherbrooke East. Tickets can be purchased through www.admission.com.
For more on V to the Tenth and the upcoming festival in New Orleans, visit www.vday.org.
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