Three Boal Techniques

INVISIBLE THEATRE is a technique of rehearsing a scene with actions that the protagonist would like to try out in real life. This is done in a place where these events could really happen and in front of an audience who, unaware that they are an audience, accordingly act as if the improvised scene was real. Thus, the improvised scene becomes reality. Fiction penetrates reality. What the protagonist had rehearsed as a plan, a blueprint, now becomes an act.

IMAGE THEATRE consists of creating short scenes, no longer than a minute or two, with a strong image that the entire audience can easily understand, identify, and apply to their own lives. Images can be realistic, allegorical, surrealistic, symbolic or metaphorical. The only thing that matters is that it is true; that it is felt as true by the protagonist. Images tell the story in a condensed, outline form using pictures with very little or no talking. The audience is pulled in immediately because they know exactly what is being said. Movement, music, and ensemble are used to heighten the impact.

FORUM THEATRE is a type of theatrical game where a problem is shown in an unresolved form. The audience is invited to suggest and enact solutions. The scenario is then repeated, allowing the audience to offer alternative solutions. The game is a contest between the audience and actors trying to bring the play (or oppression) to a different end. The result is a pooling of knowledge, tactics and experiences. As the audience participates in enacting solutions to break the cycle of oppression they are also “rehearsing for life.”

The video below gives an example of Forum Theatre


From the Inside Out -- Interactive Theater of the Oppressed
46 min - Jun 8, 2007

Theater for All, offers highly participatory workshops and interactive theater performance exploring issues of mental Health. Plays are performed by and for people dealing with mental health issues, family, friends, supporting professionals and the public. The following performances from June 2007 (at Portland State), are on law enforcement. This is an example of a technique, created by Augusto Boal called Forum Theatre.


activist from Brazil.