Forum Theatre

Old Bill Shakespeare knew a thing or two about most things, but not even he dared to combine theatre with performance management. 

Forum Theatre is a style of drama pioneered by the radical, innovative and influential Brazilian dramatist Augusto Boal. First created as a way to explore how people can change the world around them Forum Theatre is used to allow audiences to take over the direction of events, allowing the audience to direct the actors in an attempt to change the outcome of events on stage. In its purest form an audience member interjects at any time in the play and steps up to take the place of the characters, or to suggest what the character should do next. The play then goes on following this new approach. 

Radical? Possibly. Chaotic? Definitely. Applicable to organisational development and learning? Absolutely!

At Poppyfish we can apply Forum Theatre in any context where individuals are attempting to ‘learn’ a new process or technique, especially where that technique can be demonstrated by the facilitators (or actors taken from the audience) taking on the role of the participants. Take, for instance, the simple example of using Forum Theatre to demonstrate how to conduct an appraisal interview. 

In our example, the facilitators will take on the roles of the characters in the appraisal, and will get the appraisal underway. The facilitators of course begin the appraisal with a demonstration of bad practice, allowing the delegates to yell “Cut!” at any time.  The interrupter may then request that the facilitators ‘rewind’ the conversation and start again, this time trying a new approach as suggested by the interrupter. There is one restriction, and that is that they can only direct what the manager does at the interview (not the person being appraised) allowing them to co-create a best practice appraisal. By the end of it you have a 'model' appraisal that delivers best outcomes. Works a treat. And if the audience is up for it, then you can even get one of them to come up and take on the role of the manager. Also works well for negotiations, interviews and just about any other business event where people speak to each other (ie – you can use it a lot!).

From the perspective of the organisational or people development practitioner, using Forum Theatre adds a participative tool to the suite of interventions available and can be used most effectively in situations where the audience does not feel ready for role play, but where the relationship is good. After all, all the world’s a stage!