Monsters, machines and popcorn: theatre of the oppressed and street protest

Abstract

This article rises from the experience of the Theatre of the Oppressed Group from Braga in the context of the movements carried out in Portugal against austerity between 2012 and 2013. It presents some of the political and artistic interventions of the group, as well as a reflection on their impact and limitations. We intend to analyze the possibilities of the Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) to intervene, influence or enhance street protest and, at the same time, examine the extent to which this experience can articulate and question the two critical dimensions of capitalism, social and aesthetics, enunciated by Boltanski and Chiapello in their work O novo espírito do capitalismo [The new spirit of capitalism]. This article is part of an interventionist and participatory research perspective, that seeks to conceive and frame the TO as a collective action and critical education tool, within the context of contemporary social mobilizations.