Rehearsing Reality: An Interactive Docufragmentary Exploration of the Theatre of the Oppressed's Engagement with the Brazilian Landless Movement (MST)

This thesis explores the Theatre of the Oppressed's practices at the point of interaction with peasants of Brazil's Landless Movement. It uses the interactive docufragmentary entitled Rehearsing Reality to explore the social and political role of art, and to ask whether particular applications of theatre and film can be used to understand and possibly transform points of view and raise consciousness about contemporary issues in the world.

The Theatre of the Oppressed created by Augusto Boal comprises a series of interactive games, exercises and other theatrical methods developed with the purpose of using these drama techniques as a subjective medium contributing both to question and search alternatives for personal and social problems. Amongst its theatrical methods is Forum Theatre, the main practice adopted by Brazil's Landless Movement. This technique breaks with the conventions of the traditional language of theatre. Its main aim is to transform passive audiences into active participants of a theatrical scene. This thesis argues that Forum Theatre is an open medium that offers people the chance to participate democratically in the theatrical space in order to suggest and rehearse new ideas to be applied into their lives.

In order to explore how these theatrical experiences work in practice this thesis includes a central element entitled Rehearsing Reality, which is specifically designed to adapt some of the main features from Forum Theatre to film language. Its aim is to activate viewers to interact with the film process. This thesis also explores the historical developments of the Theatre of the Oppressed with major emphasis on Forum Theatre and its practices amongst members of Brazil's Landless Movement living in camps and settlements in the hinterland of Sergipe State, North-East of Brazil.

The structure of the thesis is divided into five parts: Chapter One analyses the relevant literature on the subject; Chapter Two provides a reflective account of the filming period; Chapter Three offers an overview of Boal' s life and the development of the Theatre of the Oppressed methods; Chapter Four briefly looks at the history and development of the Brazilian Landless Movement and provides a practical analysis of the experiences of Theatre of the Oppressed amongst the Landless Movement and Chapter Five analyses the creative process of making the docufragmentary Rehearsing Reality. The Conclusion suggests that the social and political aspect of art can significantly contribute to the process of comprehension and transformation of the world.

The original thesis contains audio-visual material, which can be obtained through the British Library's EThOS website at: http://ethos.bl.uk/.