Digital Theatre+, Digital Theatre’s education platform, has announced, from Thursday 21st April 2022, schools, universities, and educational institutions all over the world will be able to access The Boal Collection for the first time.
The Boal Collection is a curated selection of over 400 historical documents including previously unpublished playtexts, letters, videos and photographs illuminating the work and teachings of Augusto Boal. The materials have been carefully selected by Cecilia and Julian Boal, wife and son of the legendary Theatre of the Oppressed innovator.
Boal, one of the major theatrical innovators of the 20th century, was awarded the UNESCO Pablo Picasso medal in 1994 and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The new collection, created exclusively for education institutions, is thanks to a partnership with People’s Palace Projects, an arts research centre at Queen Mary University of London.
Their work focuses on bringing together artists, activists, academics and audiences to challenge social injustice through the power of the arts – in UK, Brazil and beyond.
Famed across the world, with his teachings still studied by almost every student of theatre, Augusto Boal (1931 – 2009) was a Brazilian theatre practitioner, drama theorist, and political activist. He was the founder of the Theatre of the Oppressed movement.
Originally developed out of Boal’s revolutionary work with worker populations in Latin America, Theatre of the Oppressed is now used all over the world for social and political activism, conflict resolution, community building, therapy, and government legislation. For this reason, Boal’s teachings are as relevant today as ever.
Both Cecilia and Julian Boal have continued Augusto Boal’s work at the Escola de Teatro Popular in Rio de Janeiro and at Theatre of the Oppressed training sessions across the globe. And in March 2009, Julian Boal received the title of “World Theatre Ambassador” from UNESCO.
The Boal Collection has been chosen from the archive of the Institute Augusto Boal in Rio de Janeiro and launches a unique journey through the interconnected stories of Boal’s personal life and professional history as a theatre practitioner.
To launch the collection, Digital Theatre+ is hosting a free webinar – open to all – on 21 April.
Why Boal Now? brings together an unprecedented international panel of expert practitioners and teachers of Boal’s techniques to look in detail at his legacy and what the study of his archive can do to inspire a new generation. Booking details: www.digitaltheatreplus.com/online-events-why-boal-now
