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Political Theatre

Content here focuses on theatremakers, companies, and projects engaging with politics and political action. A great example of the power of this work is the video series Political Theatre as a Civil Right from the British-Romanian political theatre company BÉZNĂ Theatre.

The Latest

Brecht on Brecht//Müller on Müller
Video
Brecht on Brecht//Müller on Müller
An Improvisation Inspired by George Tabori’s Legendary Brecht on Brecht Collage
Thursday 23 March 2023
New York City
How Javaad Alipoor’s Fourth World Trilogy Disrupts What We Think We Understand About History, Politics, and the Internet
Essay
How Javaad Alipoor’s Fourth World Trilogy Disrupts What We Think We Understand About History, Politics, and the Internet
by Joseph Dunne-Howrie
14 March 2023
Conceptual Development and Essential Meaning in the Artist’s Practice
Video
Conceptual Development and Essential Meaning in the Artist’s Practice
A Safe Havens Freedom Talk
Wednesday 15 March 2023
Prague, Czechia
event poster for woman, life, freedom panel.
Woman, Life, Freedom: Theatre and Protest in Iran
Video

Woman, Life, Freedom: Theatre and Protest in Iran

A Virtual Roundtable

Monday 27 March
Maryland, United States

Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park and The Theatre Times present Woman, Life, Freedom: Theatre and Protest in Iran, a virtual roundtable in honor of World Theatre Day. Featuring Azadeh Ganjeh, Nassim Soleimanpour, Keyvan Sarreshteh, and moderator Marjan Moosavi, this conversation will explore Iranian theatre artists’ ethical vision and creative practice in response to the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. This event will feature live captioning and ASL interpretation.

event poster with text for brecht on brecht muller on muller.
Brecht on Brecht//Müller on Müller
Video

Brecht on Brecht//Müller on Müller

An Improvisation Inspired by George Tabori’s Legendary Brecht on Brecht Collage

Thursday 23 March 2023
New York City

Poems, songs, and play excerpts from Brecht about war, refugees, and singing about dark times are mixed with writings from Heiner Müller about theatre, America, capitalism and the end of revolutions.

event poster for safe havens freedom talk with Ani Svami.
Conceptual Development and Essential Meaning in the Artist’s Practice
Video

Conceptual Development and Essential Meaning in the Artist’s Practice

A Safe Havens Freedom Talk

Wednesday 15 March 2023
Prague, Czechia

This presentation showed a way of conceptual development and essential meaning in the artist’s practice. Through a story of more than ten public sculptures, Ani showed her latest project, erected in Prague, Czech Republic after her evacuation from Prague as a result of the war. This event was made possible with the support of the Artists at Risk Connection (ARC).

event poster for Re-Centering Cultural Performance and Orange Economy Book Launch.
Book Launch: Re-Centering Cultural Performance and Orange Economy in Post-Colonial Africa: Policy, Soft Power, and Sustainability
Video

Book Launch: Re-Centering Cultural Performance and Orange Economy in Post-Colonial Africa: Policy, Soft Power, and Sustainability

Offering Perspectives on Ways Existing Cultural and Non-Cultural Infrastructures Can Open Opportunities for Diplomacy and Soft Power

Tuesday 14 March 2023
Saskatchewan, Canada

The Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre (C-SET) at the Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance at the University of Regina, in collaboration with Theatre Emissary International, presents the online book launch of Re-centering Cultural Performance and Orange Economy in Post-Colonial Africa: Policy, Soft Power, and Sustainability. This book explores the role of national theatres, cultural centers, cultural policy, festivals, and the film industry as creative and cultural performance hubs for exercising soft power and cultural diplomacy. This event will feature live captioning and ASL interpretation.

A still from Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World.
How Javaad Alipoor’s Fourth World Trilogy Disrupts What We Think We Understand About History, Politics, and the Internet
Essay

How Javaad Alipoor’s Fourth World Trilogy Disrupts What We Think We Understand About History, Politics, and the Internet

14 March 2023

Joseph Dunne-Howrie examines the way that three of Javaad Alipoor’s plays infuse the internet into theatrical performance, creating intersecting narratives that interrogate identity formation in the age of global interconnectivity.

An actor dressed as President Zelensky points a prop gun at an unseen target.
Reflecting on the Timeliness of Polish Theatre at Kraków’s Divine Comedy Theatre Festival
Essay

Reflecting on the Timeliness of Polish Theatre at Kraków’s Divine Comedy Theatre Festival

2 March 2023

The Divine Comedy Theatre Festival in Kraków, Poland explored the theme of “Polish Taboo” across its thirty-two productions this year. Howard Shalwitz, who attended the festival as part of an American delegation of artists building connections between the United States and Poland, shares his experience attending the festival.

event poster for the 1619 project talkback of an old ship sailing through the sky.
The 1619 Project, One-Act Festival Talkback with Dr. Nikole Hannah-Jones
Video

The 1619 Project, One-Act Festival Talkback with Dr. Nikole Hannah-Jones

Friday 17 February 2023
Dallas, Texas

Bishop Arts Theater Center presents a talkback following The 1619 Project, One-Act Festival livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Friday 17 February 2023 at 7:55 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 9:55 p.m. CST (Dallas, UTC -6) / 10:55 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

A man with glasses looks at something outside of the frame.
Grupo Tapa's Papa Highirte: A Brazilian Masterpiece About Bolsonaro’s Fall
Essay

Grupo Tapa's Papa Highirte: A Brazilian Masterpiece About Bolsonaro’s Fall

14 February 2023

Theatre researcher and journalist Eduardo Campos Lima discusses Grupo Tapa’s production of Papa Highirte and explores the history of the powerful play.

A group of protesters with various posters smile for a photo in Times Square in New York City.
A Dream Deferred: Black, Indigenous, and Women+ of Color Playwright-Activists
Essay

A Dream Deferred: Black, Indigenous, and Women+ of Color Playwright-Activists

30 January 2023

Yvette Heyliger reflects on her experience as a Black woman artivist and discusses the racial and gender inequities in the theatre field.

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre teaser image with the title at the top and a picture of the guest in the middle.
How YDC Theatre Leaders Are Navigating Malawi’s Changing Theatre Environment
Podcast

How YDC Theatre Leaders Are Navigating Malawi’s Changing Theatre Environment

4 January 2023

YDC Theatre has been producing theatre consistently in Malawi, even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They join Fumbani Innot Phiri, Jr. to trace the connections between the company’s consistent work centering Malawian perspectives, their efforts to build an audience, and the political and funding climate that they must navigate.

Five performers, with one of them holding a baby, stand in a line on stage and hold a Ukrainian flag together.
How Slovo. Theater Group Fights for Ukraine on the Cultural Front
Essay

How Slovo. Theater Group Fights for Ukraine on the Cultural Front

6 December 2022

Slovo. Theater Group uses theatre as a tool to fight against cultural oppression by promoting Ukrainian culture abroad. Audrey Rose, the group’s producer, discusses the process of making theatre during active war as a way of resisting oppression and violence.

Teaser image for Season 1, Episode 5 of Critical Stages In Malawian Contemporary Theatre featuring the headshot of Bright Phumayo Chayachaya.
Building an Audience for Malawian Political Theatre
Podcast

Building an Audience for Malawian Political Theatre

22 November 2022

Bright Phumayo Chayachaya’s Umunthu Theatre pulls together political theatre, poor theatre, theatre for development, and educational theatre to create productions that centralize Malawian narratives. In this interview, he discusses the company’s genesis and the need to bring audiences back to theatre.

Artistic imagination as force for change event poster.
Animating Democracy Session Three
Video

Animating Democracy Session Three

Artistic Imagination as a Force for Change

Friday 18 November 2022
United States

Art2Action and Animating Democracy presented Artistic Imagination as a Force for Change, the third event in the series Animating Democracy: REFLECTING FORWARD, livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 18 November 2022 at 1 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 3 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 4 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Poster for Book Launch event.
Book Launch: Different Models, One Goal: Doing Theatre, Democracy, and Social Justice
Video

Book Launch: Different Models, One Goal: Doing Theatre, Democracy, and Social Justice

Socially-Engaged Theatre Through the Lens of Tor Iorapuu's Community-Driven Theatre

Friday 18 November 2022
Nigeria and Canada

The Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre (C-SET), in collaboration with Theatre Emissary International and the University of Jos, Nigeria, presented the online book launch of Different Models, One Goal: Doing Theatre, Democracy, and Social Justice edited by Adediran Ademiju-Bepo, Hussaini U. Tsaku, Awuawuer Tijime Justine, Shadrach Teryila Ukuma, and Bem Alfred Abugh livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Friday 18 November 2022 at 9 a.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 10 a.m. EST (New York, UTC -5) / 3 p.m. GMT (London, UTC +0) / 16:00 CET (Berlin, UTC +1) / 4 p.m. WAT (Lagos, UTC +1).

event poster for the freedom talk at archives and resistance.
Freedom Talk at Archives and Resistance
Video

Freedom Talk at Archives and Resistance

How Archives and Archival Interventions Can Challenge Power

Friday 18 November 2022
Belarus

Safe Havens Freedom Talks (SH|FT) presented a Freedom Talk at Archives and Resistance livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Friday 18 November 2022 at 8:30 a.m. EST (New York, UTC -5) / 13:30 GMT (London, UTC +0) / 2:30 p.m. CET (Stockholm, UTC +1).

The cover of a book called The Wildcard Workbook: A Practical Guide for Jokering Forum Theatre. It is purple and yellow.
The Wildcard Workbook: Why Forum Theatre and Why Now?
Essay

The Wildcard Workbook: Why Forum Theatre and Why Now?

15 November 2022

Theatremakers Sulu LeoNimm, Liz Morgan, and Katy Rubin discuss the process of co-authoring The Wildcard Workbook, a guide designed to help others in the field delve into Theatre of the Oppressed practices and devised theatre processes.

headshots of Stacy Klein and Baraka Sele.
The Radical and The Revolutionary
Video

The Radical and The Revolutionary

Stacy Klein and Baraka Sele on their Experiences in Theatre and Life as part of Double Edge Theatre's Fortieth Anniversary

Sunday 16 October 2022
Massachusetts

Double Edge Theatre presented The Radical and The Revolutionary, livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 16 October 2022 at 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 2 p.m. EDT (Boston, UTC -4).

event poster for The Novelist as Knowledge Keeper Safe Havens Freedom Talk.
Freedom Talk: The Importance of Storytelling
Video

Freedom Talk: The Importance of Storytelling

The Novelist as Knowledge Keeper

Friday 14 October 2022
South Africa

Safe Havens Freedom Talks (SH|FT) presented an Freedom Talk: The Novelist as Knowledge Keeper livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 14 October 2022 at 8:30 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 12:30 UTC / 2:30 p.m. SAST (Capetown, UTC +2).

event poster for reflecting forward session two: Art, Race & Dialogue.
Animating Democracy Session Two
Video

Animating Democracy Session Two

Art, Race, and Dialogue

Thursday 13 October 2022
United States

Art2Action and Animating Democracy presented Art, Race, and Dialogue, the second event in the series Animating Democracy: REFLECTING FORWARD, livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 13 October 2022 at 1 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 3 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 4 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Kunafa and Shay Teaser Image.
Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival
Podcast

Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival

4 October 2022

In this special episode, Marina and Nabra sit down with Lebanese actor, theatremakers, and peacebuilder Raffi Feghali to talk about the Buffer Fringe Festival. Buffer Fringe is an annual festival with a mission for peacebuilding and social justice, organized by Home for Cooperation and situated in the buffer zone in Cyprus. Buffer Fringe runs 7-9 October 2022, presenting three days of international, interdisciplinary, experimental performances under the theme of Pockets (beyond). Join us as we explore improv in Lebanon, experimental theatre in a geographically contentious area, and artistic curation for peacebuilding.

event poster for animating democracy session one voter mobilization and the arts.
Animating Democracy Session One
Video

Animating Democracy Session One

Voter Mobilization and the Arts

Wednesday 28 September 2022
United States

Art2Action and Animating Democracy presented Animating Democracy: Voter Mobilization and the Arts, the first event in the series Animating Democracy: REFLECTING FORWARD, livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 28 September 2022 at 1 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 3 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 4 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Several actors sitting at two different tables on stage.
No Borders’ Feast: A Reckoning at the Royal Court/On the Square
Essay

No Borders’ Feast: A Reckoning at the Royal Court/On the Square

26 September 2022

verity healey speaks with Polish theatremaker Nastazja Domaradzka about No Borders, an arts program she created in collaboration with the Royal Court Theatre in London that prioritizes migrant artists’ experiences and voices.

Five people sitting around a table on stage.
Polish Connections: A New Generation of Theatre Linkages Between the United States and Poland
Essay

Polish Connections: A New Generation of Theatre Linkages Between the United States and Poland

19 September 2022

For the past two years, LINKAGES: Poland has convened theatre leaders from Poland and the United States to discuss fieldwide issues. When three theatremakers who have been deeply involved in the project traveled from the United States to Poland this summer, they were struck by the changing landscape of Polish theatre and its parallels to the US theatre industry.

event poster for freedom talk in the name of freedom.
Freedom Talk at In the Name of Freedom
Video

Freedom Talk at In the Name of Freedom

Art That Unites, Makes Us Stand Up, and Makes Us Human

Friday 16 September 2022
Oslo, Norway

Safe Havens Freedom Talks (SH|FT), together with Safemuse, presented a Freedom Talk at In the Name of Freedom, livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 16 September at 8:30 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 12:30 UTC / 2:30 p.m. CEST (Oslo, UTC +2).

event poster for puppets in the green mountains festival 2022.
Puppets in the Green Mountains 2022
Video

Puppets in the Green Mountains 2022

Access Through The Arts Panel Discussions Exploring the Theme of Roots and Wings

Saturday 10 September - Sunday 18 September 2022
United States

Sandglass Theater presented events from the Puppets in the Green Mountains Festival 2022 livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 10 September, Saturday 17 September, and Sunday 18 September 2022.