The term ‘forum theatre’ is not really something with instant name recall outside theatre circles especially in this country. Yet, it is one of the most effective methodologies associated with a powerful theatre movement, the Theatre of the Oppressed (TO), that was founded by Brazilian writer and politician Augusto Boal, as a reaction to the military regime instated in his country by a widely unpopular coup d’état in 1964. His treatise on the subject was published in 1973, after he had been forced into exile by the hostile environment at home. A fundamental principle associated with TO is the idea of an audience actively participating in the decision-making that may be taking place on stage. They are spect- actors , not spectators. This agency afforded to those who have hitherto only been bystanders when it came to traditional theatre (which Boal always deemed as ‘oppressive’ in its own right) resulted in liberating and empowering exchanges that laid the foundation of true collaboration and even, social reinvention.
To further elaborate, imagine for instance a play presenting a social dilemma that may be particularly relevant to the audience at hand. The scenarios being played out could deal with any pertinent social issues — the safety of women in public spaces, dowry evils, female infanticide, the stigmatisation faced by HIV-positive people. As a set-piece associated with an issue is played out — with both the oppressed and the oppressor in each situation carefully delineated — any member of the audience can stop proceedings and by virtue of replacing an actor on stage veer the narrative into a new direction that could possibly offer up a different resolution to the dilemma being played out. Thus effectively a forum is created, and the discourse can be moved forward. Boal's methods have proven to be effective in many disenfranchised communities across the world. TO seeks to set free, at least momentarily, those under the yoke of oppressive structures that they may not usually be able to stand up to. Ideas that are engendered during ‘play’ can find their way into real life, and this is the impulse of political action that Boal seeks to activate.
It is therefore of no great surprise that TO has found adherents in the subcontinent as well — given how oppressive most of a visible social structures are. The Jana Sanskriti Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed (CTO) was established in 1985 and initially operated out of a small village in the Sunderbans, before fanning out into a much larger network of satellite teams scattered across West Bengal primarily, but with affiliates in many other states. In over three decades, they have attempted to create a strong community of active and responsible citizens, and their reach has only been increasing over the years as evinced by the crowds in attendance at their bi-annual Forum Theatre festival called Muktadhara (the next edition is scheduled in 2018). Apart from the forum workshops, the festival features plays, and folk theatre and music presentations, and teeming audiences from rural communities across Bengal.
The founder member and director of Jana Sanskriti is Sanjoy Ganguly, and the Mumbai-based Junoon Arts has invited him to speak at their upcoming Mumbai Local art adda. Ganguly’s contribution to what is a global forum theatre movement is particularly unique, because although Boal’s methods are an incontrovertible part of Jana Sanskriti’s modus operandi in the rural grassroots of India, he has also effectively harnessed elements of West Bengal’s folk theatre traditions to create a practice that is as much local as it is global. Junoon’s commitment to the arts certainly takes off on a high note this year with this meaningful fixture.
Sanjoy Ganguly will talk on Seeding Democracy: Jana Sanskriti's Forum Theatre Movement , at MCubed Library, Bandra West on Saturday, January 6, at 5 p.m.
