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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

Viewpoints for Achieving Authentic Representation of Roma Communities on Stage
Essay
Viewpoints for Achieving Authentic Representation of Roma Communities on Stage
by Tímea Éva Bogya, Márton Illés
27 March 2024
Should We Write Differently About Roma Theatre?
Essay
Should We Write Differently About Roma Theatre?
by Noémi Herczog, Éva Moharos
25 March 2024
How LUNG Is Breathing Radical Joy into Theatre in the United Kingdom
Essay
How LUNG Is Breathing Radical Joy into Theatre in the United Kingdom
by verity healey, Matt Woodhead, Helen Monks
5 March 2024
BUILD Forward: Advocacy, Artistry, and Adaptability
Video

BUILD Forward: Advocacy, Artistry, and Adaptability

With Conversations Focusing on Trans Advocacy and Organizational Adaptability

Friday 15 October and Saturday 16 October 2021
United States

foolsFURY Theater presented BUILD Forward: Advocacy, Artistry, and Adaptability livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 15 October and Saturday 16 October 2021.

event poster for artists ideas now our camp on fire.
ARTISTS/IDEAS/NOW—Our Camp on Fire
Video

ARTISTS/IDEAS/NOW—Our Camp on Fire

Looking at the Perspective of the Climate Crisis Through the Eyes of Refugees and People Under Threat of Displacement

Wednesday 13 October 2021
Liverpool, United Kingdom

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival presented ARTISTS/IDEAS/NOW—Our Camp on Fire livestreaming on the commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Wednesday 13 October 2021 at 10 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 12 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 6 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 19:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2).

event poster with artist headshots for NO SUMMARY theatre from the streets.
NO SUMMARY: Theatre from the Streets of Palestine, India, and Venezuela
Video

NO SUMMARY: Theatre from the Streets of Palestine, India, and Venezuela

A Conversation about the International Pilot Program Aiming to Bring Forth Truthful Stories and Realities of the People of Palestine, India, and Venezuela

Friday 24 September 2021
United States

Golden Thread presented NO SUMMARY: Theatre from the Streets of Palestine, India, and Venezuela livestreaming on the commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 24 September 2021 at 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

event poster for school of resistance for a politics of justice.
School of Resistance: For a Politics of Justice!
Video

School of Resistance: For a Politics of Justice!

Three Panels on a New Politics of Humanity and Justice

Friday 24 September to Saturday 25 September 2021
Cologne, Germany

NTGent presented School of Resistance: For a Politics of Justice! livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 September 2021.

A woman in a blue and red dress crying.
Towards a Feminist Theatre in Nigeria
Essay

Towards a Feminist Theatre in Nigeria

21 September 2021

Kofoworola Owokotomo shares her experience directing a new production of The Vagina Monologues that explicitly addressed women’s oppression in contemporary Nigerian society.

portraits of women in black and white with red handprints over their mouths.
The Living Presence of Our History: Part V
Video

The Living Presence of Our History: Part V

A Conversation with Indigenous Artists Making Art for Social Change

Sunday 19 September 2021
United States

The Ohketeau Cultural Center and Double Edge Theatre co-presented The Living Presence of Our History: Part V on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 19 September 2021 at 10 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 12 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

9/11 Village Gathering: Reflections and Conversation
Video

9/11 Village Gathering: Reflections and Conversation

Art2Action Presents Documentation of the New York 9/11 Village Gathering, Filmed and Edited by Kacey Anisa, Framed by a Livestreamed Discussion

Friday 17 September 2021
United States

Art2Action presents a 9/11 Village Gathering: Reflections and Conversation livestreaming on the commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 17 September 2021 at 12 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 2 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 3 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

A woman in red lighting holding her iPhone as if to take a picture.
The Politics of Rebuilding Theatrical and Civic Communities: Global Autocracy, Brexit, and Racism
Essay

The Politics of Rebuilding Theatrical and Civic Communities: Global Autocracy, Brexit, and Racism

16 September 2021

Verity Healey sits down with Javaad Alipoor to discuss themes that preoccupy Alipoor as a theatremaker and political person: racism, history, Brexit, international communities, politics, and how these things come into his work and collaborations with other artists.

poster for the artists, ideas, now, imagine democracy event.
Artists/Ideas/Now—Imagine Democracy
Video

Artists/Ideas/Now—Imagine Democracy

A Conversation About the Climate Crisis and its Impact in the Middle East and North Africa

Wednesday 15 September 2021
Liverpool, United Kingdom

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival presented ARTISTS/IDEAS/NOW—Imagine Democracy livestreaming on the commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 15 September 2021 at 10 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 12 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 6 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 19:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2).

A person with an image of a military base superimposed on their face.
The People’s Tribunal on Crimes of Aggression: Afghanistan Sessions
Video

The People’s Tribunal on Crimes of Aggression: Afghanistan Sessions

A Durational Artistic Tribunal Built and Run by Impacted Communities

Thursday 9 September to Saturday 11 September 2021
London, United Kingdom

First-person testimonies, expert witnesses and physical evidence will be presented through performance in an effort to artistically shift the focus onto the crimes of the UK state and prove that the war in Afghanistan, a war referred to as ‘The Good War’, was a crime of aggression. Livestreaming on the commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Thursday 9 September to Saturday 11 September 2021.

Three people sitting onstage, one of them holding a globe, and five spirits above them, one in the middle connecting two blocks with a spark in between them.
Public Access Archives: The End of the Theatre Industry
Essay

Public Access Archives: The End of the Theatre Industry

7 September 2021

Taylor Leigh Lamb and Sabine Decatur share emails, letters, social media posts, and more from the future that represent the period of profound change in the theatre industry beginning in 2021.

Actress Tawana Montgomery playing Deborah Scott. Photo credit: Greg Mooney
Organizing History in the Alliance Theatre’s Working: A Musical
Essay

Organizing History in the Alliance Theatre’s Working: A Musical

17 August 2021

Margarita Kompelmakher details the Alliance Theatre’s process of adapting Working into a community-engaged production that both modeled grassroots organizing and told the story of the work of organizers in the city.

Unrehearsed Futures
Video

Unrehearsed Futures

Episode #19: Collaborative Theatre-Making and/as Participatory Justice

Thursday 12 August 2021
South Africa

Unrehearsed Futures Episode #19: Collaborative Theatre-Making and/as Participatory Justice livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 12 August 2021.

event poster for unrehearsed futures episode 18.
Unrehearsed Futures
Video

Unrehearsed Futures

Episode #18: We Have Been Here Before

Thursday 5 August 2021
South Africa

Unrehearsed Futures Episode #18: We Have Been Here Before livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 5 August 2021 at 5 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 10 a.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 11 a.m. SAST (Cape Town, UTC +2).

I Want to Tell You About Beirut
Video

I Want to Tell You About Beirut

A Reading of Testimonies and Roundtable Discussion Commemorating the One-Year Mark of the Beirut Port Explosion

Tuesday 3 August 2021
Beirut

Golden Thread Productions, Al Madina Theatre, and the Legal Agenda present I Want to Tell You About Beirut livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 3 August at 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -5) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 18:00 UTC / 9 p.m. EEST (UTC +3).

event poster for unrehearsed futures episode seventeen.
Unrehearsed Futures
Video

Unrehearsed Futures

Episode #17: Theatre Beyond The Show

Thursday 29 July 2021
South Africa

Unrehearsed Futures Episode #17: Theatre Beyond The Show livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 29 July 2021 at 7 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 12 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 1 p.m. SAST (Cape Town, UTC +2).

activists wearing white.
The New Solidarity: Art, Organizing & Radical Politics
Video

The New Solidarity: Art, Organizing & Radical Politics

A provocative new film by world-renowned director Milo Rau and two conversations about how artists and social movements are reshaping their work to meet this historical moment

United States

Melanie Joseph and David Bruin presented The New Solidarity: Art, Organizing & Radical Politics livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 9 July and Saturday 10 July 2021.

Creating a Platform for Black-Palestinian Solidarity
Essay

Creating a Platform for Black-Palestinian Solidarity

6 July 2021

Jen Marlowe shares how her documentary play There Is A Field became a framework for exploring Black-Palestinian solidarity.

actors in office attire perform with actor in green screen suit onstage.
Tilos az abadság - F* Ree Artists / New Year's Eve Revue
Video

Tilos az abadság - F* Ree Artists / New Year's Eve Revue

GHOST HOURS OF FREE ART livestreaming from the glorious halls of the Hungarian Metal Workers' Union in Budapest

Thursday 24 June 2021
Hungary

TV Free Europe presented Tilos az abadság - F* Ree Artists / New Year's Eve Revue livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 24 June 2021 at 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 6 p.m. BST (London, UTC+1) / 19:00 CET (Budapest, UTC +2).

event poster with text for unrehearsed futures episode eleven.
Unrehearsed Futures: (Im)possible Futures
Video

Unrehearsed Futures: (Im)possible Futures

Episode 11: Rehearsing Social Justice at the Margins

Thursday 17 June 2021
South Africa

Unrehearsed Futures: (Im)possible Futures livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Thursday 17 June 2021 at 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 5 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 6 p.m. SAST (Cape Town, UTC +2) / 9:30 p.m. IST (Mumbai, UTC +5:30) / Friday 18 June at 2 a.m. AEST (Hobart, UTC +10).

Illustration by Silent Fox, inspired by the essay.
When Theatre Will Become Fully Itself: Digital Supratheatre and the Fight for an Inclusive Future
Essay

When Theatre Will Become Fully Itself: Digital Supratheatre and the Fight for an Inclusive Future

Translated by Cecilia Laslo

25 May 2021

Mihaela Drăgan introduces digital supratheatre—a theatre of the future with two underlying principles: technological change and social change.

red and white poster with event information for school of resistance episode fourteen.
School of Resistance—Episode Fourteen: Revolution Today: The world in protest
Video

School of Resistance—Episode Fourteen: Revolution Today: The world in protest

How Can We Use Artistic Tools to Create a Common, Global Language of Progress and Change?

Thursday 20 May 2021
Ghent, Belgium

NTGent presented School of Resistance, Episode Fourteen: Revolution Today livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 20 May 2021 at 18:00 CEST (Brussels, Cairo, UTC +2) / 17:00 BST (London, UTC +1) / 12 p.m. EDT (New York, Santiago de Chile, UTC -4) / 9 a.m. PDT (Los Angeles, UTC -7).

L to R: headshots of Adriana Li, Program Coordinator & Instructor, Impact Boston and Dax Valdes, Senior Trainer, Hollaback!.
Responding to Anti-Asian Race-Based Harassment
Video

Responding to Anti-Asian Race-Based Harassment

Healing Over Hate Episode Two: Bystander intervention and safety awareness trainings to combat anti-AAPI harassment and xenophobia

Monday 10 May 2021
United States

Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (CAATA) presented the second episode of its ongoing monthly ConFest Virtual Series, Healing Over Hate on Monday 10 May at 1 p.m. HST (Honolulu, UTC -10), 3 p.m. AKDT (Juneau, UTC -8), 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7), 5 p.m. MDT (Denver, UTC -6), 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5), 7 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

event details.
Unrehearsed Futures: Carcerality, Ritual and Spectatorship
Video

Unrehearsed Futures: Carcerality, Ritual and Spectatorship

Episode 5: Prisoners Coming Home

Thursday 6 May 2021
South Africa

Presenting Unrehearsed Futures: Carcerality, Ritual and Spectatorship livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Thursday 6 May 2021 at 6 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 11 a.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 12 p.m. SAST (Cape Town, UTC +2) / 3:30 p.m. IST (Mumbai, UTC +5:30) / 8 p.m. AEST (Hobart, UTC +10).

An Image of four panels. The first has a waste basket and crumbled paper in it it. The second have children looking at a stage with their backs to us. The third is a person in a green shirt with long black hair sitting at a desk in and office talking to a person who has their back to us. The fourth panel has a podium with a slot, and various rectangles and circles surrounding it.
Creating Theatre for Our Future, Together
Essay

Creating Theatre for Our Future, Together

29 April 2021

Mary Kathryn Nagle predicts four main ways the American theatre will devise a future where theatrical storytelling does not directly contribute to white supremacy.