Theatre of the oppressed for empowerment and research

Abstract

ABSTRACT Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) was not invented as a research method but is increasingly attracting researchers’ attention as a unique approach to describing and understanding the situations faced by underprivileged groups. Despite these positive features and this increasing attention, there are some aspects which should be carefully described and negotiated if we are to also use the TO for research purposes. Firstly, we delineate TO vis-à-vis participatory action research (PAR) and critical ethnography and describe our experience of using TO both at the university level and in researching marginalised groups. Subsequently, we outline the strategies for choosing non-actors to participate which affect the researcher’s control over the agenda and the data discovered. We also discuss how research questions are developed in TO by the researcher and the participants. We then distinguish three approaches to inviting audiences. The arguments are based on 10 years of experience using the TO for intervention and research, contributing to reflection on the TO as a comprehensive method of empowerment and research.