Theatre For Development - Participatory Performances

Participatory Performances

In usual performances there are actors on stage and spectators who watch the play. With ‘usual plays’ it is meant the Eurocentric way that was long seen as the only ‘right’ way to do theatre all over the world, especially by the former European rulers of colonized countries. In e.g. African or Asian countries different forms of theatre were and still are very common in the sense of bringing information to the people in an oral way. Thus, different theatre traditions developed worldwide and re-lived in colonized countries after independence, whilst in rural areas they were even common during colonization. By now these times are over, and development communication got a very important topic, thus it seems perfect to make up still living traditions through participative theatre methods. First of all it is very important for actors and organisers of the performance or TfD-project to get to know the society and the problems people face. Therefore, the play that is going to be performed and worked with has to be developed with local people, who know cultural behaviors and social problems of the society. Moreover, it is very helpful to have local authority persons and opinion leaders in the team of a TfD-project, whom the regional society listens to and trusts. In this way it is even possible to take advantage of the knowledge that locals have about best dates for performances or even to advertise for the ongoing TfD-performance.