Pandemic, theatre and performance: Democratizing the subalterns through the Theatre of the Oppressed

Abstract

The presented work analyses Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) methods impacting the pandemic. It follows the WHO timeline, when the COVID-19 pandemic had cast a dark shadow, making sustenance difficult for the marginalized section of Indian society. TO methods, though reflected, adapted and accommodated exhaustively in Indian applied theatre over the last four decades, offered a fresh, collective, democratic space during the pandemic. Forum theatre (FT) and legislative theatre (LT) praxis rendered a platform for activism, awareness and emancipation of the ‘subalterns’ during the pandemic. Thus, TO renewed psycho-social dialogue and critical, creative, experimental space during this time. The applicability of such methods facilitating social change is gauged using Boal’s ‘spect-actorship’ and Freire’s ‘conscientization’. The article looks forward to the TO signposts to serve as nodal points for further scholarly discussion and study on democratizing the disenfranchised population through FT and LT during the pandemic.