Forum Theatre When the audience steps into the action
At ATB, the stage does more than tell a story. It becomes a space for dialogue where a real-life situation can be observed, questioned and replayed. Audience members are invited to suggest alternatives and step onto the stage to test them with the actors.
Question.
Experiment.
The performance becomes a social laboratory
Forum Theatre stages a situation of oppression, conflict or deadlock inspired by lived realities. The performance makes the problem visible and allows the audience to examine it collectively.
Guided by a facilitator known as the Joker, the audience analyses the situation and imagines other possibilities. A spectator can then step onto the stage, replace a character and test an alternative directly with the actors.
The audience no longer remains at a distance: spectators become “spect-actors” and take part in exploring alternatives.
The boundary between stage and audience fades, making room for collective experimentation.
Three stages to move from observation to experimentation
The method first brings a problem onto the stage, then opens a dialogue with the audience, before inviting participants to test another way of acting.
The scene of oppression
The actors present a situation of oppression, conflict or deadlock. The scene reveals the problem and the relationships that prevent it from being resolved.
The Joker intervenes
The Joker opens the discussion with the audience, questions what has just been seen and invites spectators to identify other possibilities.
The spect-actor
An audience member steps onto the stage, replaces a character and tests an alternative within the situation alongside the actors.
An idea is no longer merely expressed: it can be performed, confronted with the situation and discussed collectively.
From awareness to exploring possibilities
Forum Theatre creates a pathway between what people observe, what they imagine and what they dare to experiment with collectively.
See differently
The performance makes a situation visible and helps identify its tensions, obstacles and relationships.
Test alternatives
Ideas can be put to the test on stage. The audience observes their effects and explores different ways of intervening.
Enrich dialogue
The theatrical experience opens a space where a community can compare viewpoints and collectively enrich possible responses.
Forum Theatre does not replace collective decision-making: it creates a space where different responses can be discussed and tested.
Staging the issues that shape our societies
Forum Theatre can address concrete social issues. At ATB, the method has notably been used to explore health, human rights, peace and social cohesion.
Peace & social cohesion
Encouraging intercultural dialogue, mutual understanding and collective reflection in situations of tension.
Human rights
Opening discussion on early marriage, female genital mutilation, gender-based violence and other rights-related issues.
Health
Addressing issues such as malaria, reproductive health and major public-health concerns.
Education
Using performance and participation to open discussion around educational and civic realities.
Environment
Using theatre to raise awareness and stimulate reflection on environmental issues experienced by communities.
Community dialogue
Creating an accessible space where different voices can be heard and take part in collective reflection.
Going where dialogue needs to happen
Forum Theatre is not confined to traditional performance venues. Its field-based approach enables interventions to reach communities, including rural areas and outlying neighbourhoods.
Communities
Creating spaces for dialogue close to the realities and people concerned.
Schools & universities
Using theatre as a tool for learning, reflection and civic expression.
Institutions & NGOs
Designing interventions around social issues identified with partner organisations.
Public spaces
Taking performance beyond theatre walls and bringing debate closer to people.
Rural areas
Adapting dissemination to reach areas far from traditional cultural facilities.
Concerned audiences
Building discussion with those who directly experience the situations brought onto the stage.
Theatre as a laboratory for social transformation
The story of Atelier Théâtre Burkinabè began in 1978. Over the decades, the institution has developed a Theatre for Development practice in which performance becomes a tool for participation and reflection on social realities.
Forum Theatre occupies a major place within this approach. It changes the relationship between stage and audience: people are not merely recipients of a message; they can intervene and test their own proposals.
A method that can be shared and learned
Experience gained through Theatre for Development also feeds training, documentation and the sharing of methods with artists and development practitioners.
Passing on the tools of participatory theatre
A framework for understanding methods, developing artistic practices and strengthening intervention skills.
Learning through the stage
Theatre practice makes it possible to confront methods with performed situations and understand their mechanisms.
The CTF, a Forum Theatre gathering
The National Forum Theatre Competition brings theatre companies together around this participatory practice. Its 18th edition took place from 8 to 13 May 2023 at Atelier Théâtre Burkinabè.
Performing on trestle stages in front of ATB, competing and guest companies presented performances in Mooré, Dioula and French, addressing themes connected with contemporary realities.
During the competition, the street in front of ATB also becomes a space for performance and encounters with the public.
Who is Forum Theatre for?
Because it starts from a concrete issue and places participation at the heart of the process, Forum Theatre can support different contexts of awareness-raising, training and dialogue.
NGOs & associations
For awareness-raising, community mobilisation and dialogue around social issues.
Public institutions
For participatory dialogue around civic issues and matters of collective interest.
Local authorities
For encouraging participation and dialogue around realities experienced at local level.
Schools & universities
For exploring participatory methods and theatre as an educational tool.
Technical partners
For integrating a participatory artistic approach into a programme or intervention strategy.
Artists & theatre companies
For deepening Forum Theatre practice and Theatre for Development methods.
Explore ATB’s experience and knowledge
Publications, documentary resources and books offer further insight into Theatre for Development and the theatrical practices developed by ATB.
Enjeux de Scène
Reflections, experiences and research on theatre and development.
Faire du théâtre pour développer
A methodological guide for theatre companies and organisations wishing to use Forum Theatre.
Archives & publications
Explore resources documenting ATB’s productions, practices and experience.
A reality. A stage. New possibilities.
Would you like to use Forum Theatre to address a social, educational or community issue? Talk to ATB about designing an intervention adapted to your context.