Political Theatre

Lama El Homaïssi reflects on her experience working with American Repertory Theater on their musical We Live in Cairo, diving into representation in storytelling, the oral Hakawati tradition, and more.

ArtsEmerson Artistic Director David Dower speaks with Chilean playwright Guillermo Calderón about the ongoing protests in Chile.

Isaac Mafuel talks about Malawi’s most prevalent form of theatre, its history, and its impact and challenges.

Producer Tobi Kyeremateng and poet/writer Roger Robinson talk about Black writers in the UK, creative citizenship, activism in the arts, and more.

Sam Williams dives into several of the productions at Finland’s Tampere Theatre Festival, which ran between August 5 and 11 and which was curated based on the theme of bravery.

Katy Rubin, founder and former exeuctive director of Theatre of the Oppressed NYC, talks with new executive director Meggan Gomez about how long leaders should hold their roles in an organization, mission drift, founder’s syndrome, and more.

Ben Barson and Gizelxanath Rodriguez, part of the Afro Yaqui Music Collective, talk about artivism—what it means, what it can look like—in relation to building a jazz opera with various communities around the world.

Karen Malpede argues that significant theatrical engagement with the climate crisis cannot occur in the United States without governmental intervention, and looks at the Federal Theatre Project as a model.

Several months after Pittsburgh’s Quantam Theatre programmed The Gun Show, there was a mass shooting at a synagogue in the city. TJ Parker discusses how the company responded to the crisis, both through the play and through community engagement.

Playwright Pearl Cleage discusses playwriting, activism, and how theatremakers can help save the world in this excerpt from her keynote speech at the 2019 TYA/USA National Festival & Conference.

Amanda L. Andrei reflects on Warsaw’s Generation After 3 festival, which had the theme of “risky projects,” and discusses four pieces she saw on risk as it relates to the body and the world.

Members of the Detroit-based artist collective Complex Movements discuss the connection between technology, performance, and social justice community organizing.

verity healey looks at Teatr.doc’s latest show, Torture, and the vital need for “truth-telling” theatre.

Farai Mabeza offers an overview of theatre in Zimbabwe, from the major theatre in the capital city, to smaller community theatres, to the country’s festivals.

Tita Anntares examines different ways of building empathy in audiences through two recent plays, The Courtroom and To My Unborn Child, and a panel discussion hosted by the Center for Constitutional Rights.