Péter Tasnádi-Sáhy on (re)learning how to act and contemplate the possible
According to Augusto Boal, theatre is ʻconsidered to always present a vision of the world in transformation and therefore is inevitably political in so far as it shows the means of carrying out that transformation or of delaying it.’
In the countries I work in, Romania and Hungary, most theatres are state-financed. It means the ruling regime interested in the status quo maintains the institutions that should be the mean of changing it. No wonder the transformation project is not in focus in these theatres.
In ancient times, the main aim of the ritual activity was to create or recreate the unity in the universe, to sustain the connection between human beings and their physical and metaphysical environment, or to make a wished outcome possible. Hunters danced around the fire to connect to the game, to ensure the success of the hunt; the ritual empowered the hunters to act.
To that extent, ancient Greek theatre was not ritual because it was not about connection and creation but for the ʻelimination of the “bad” or illegal tendencies of the audience.’ It showed (and it shows nowadays as well) what the people in power – the maintainers of institutional theatre – expected (expect) the masses to do. This kind of institutional theatre prevents action. It doesn’t help transformation; on the contrary, rather than empowering, it intimidates.
I regard forum theatre and any other kind of genuine community theatre as a modern ritual bringing the possibilities into play and helping to study their pros and cons without getting hurt.
Boal called the participants of forum theatre events spect-actors, which means everybody can be a spectator and actor by choice not by force, and can change position at any time.
Forum-theatre is a space where we can (re)learn how to act and contemplate about the possible outcomes for our own sake; it opens up a wide range of opportunities to find the best solution, and teaches us to become a conscious actor on the stage of society.
Péter Tasnádi-Sáhy runs forum-theatre workshops for Ukrainian refugees at Dévai Inn (Budapest) and several other places. He holds a Master’s diploma in theatre directing from the University of Art Targu Mures and is currently a DLA candidate at BBU.