Workshops on Forum Theatre

This activity explored participatory and drama methods with workshops on Forum Theatre to recreate the past and to reevaluate the present. The method of Forum Theatre, also called Theatre of the Oppressed, conveys key values based on the democracy of the entire theatrical and drama process, in which actors take part in the ‘game’, becoming active creators of their own fate, able to question the existing order and act for change. The method allows expressing disagreement with injustice in an expressive and symbolic way.

During the period 15 July – 14 November 2021, six workshops were held in Bulgaria, Romania, Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Czech Republic. The workshops were 5 days in duration and the participants were encouraged to review the learned through video messages and express their thoughts/views on democracy and youth participation by answering the question „What is democracy for me?“.

The participants in the workshops recreated the past and the authentic stories of repressed dissidents allowing the participants to immerse in the characters they will be playing. The workshops  empowered youth to examine the consequences of the past and to assess the contemporary liberties and freedoms. 

The workshops reflected on the meaning of youth participation in addressing the rights and responsibilities connected to democracy and civil rights.