As a young man during the 1950s and 60s, Brasilian director Augusto Boal wanted to use theater as a means to empower the poor and marginalized communities of Rio’s slums and favelas.
In doing so he abandoned the traditional divide between performers and passive spectators, creating a new form of participatory theatre that became known as Theater of the Oppressed (TO), designed specifically for ‘those who want to learn ways of fighting back against oppression in their daily lives.’
