(Dis)Placed: A Theatre of the Oppressed Festival
Dates: January 23rd-January 26th 2025
Location: Drogheda, County Louth
Registration link:https://sites.google.com/view/displaced-tofestival/home
Description:
(Dis)Placed is a Theatre of the Oppressed festival that delves into the complex relationships between people and the land they call home. Through workshops, performances, and a trip to the Battle of the Boyne, this festival examines the theme of “displacement” and belonging. We will explore the connections between Palestine, migration and the housing crises. The festival will bring together new and experienced Theatre of the Oppressed practitioners to explore interconnections between these local and global issues and our responses through theatre and action.
Workshops:
The festival offers a rich lineup of workshops designed to deepen participants' understanding of Theatre of the Oppressed methodologies. Each workshop will explore theatre methods for analysing and transforming societal issues through theatre.
Workshops include:
- Newspaper theatre with Sabrina Speranza from Uruguay,
- Legislative theatre with José Soeiro,
- Forum theatre with Ana Ni Lochlainn and Janna Lindstrom from Galway.
Performances:
- The festival will feature two forum theatre performances focusing on the housing crisis, presented by actors from Cork and Portugal,
- Bassam, a play on Palestine, performed by Fadl Mustapha.
Place-based exploration:
A unique highlight will be a group trip to the Battle of the Boyne site, inviting reflection on Ireland’s historical struggles and its complex relationship with land and conflict. This journey offers participants an opportunity to explore how these legacies resonate in Irish solidarity with Palestine and have echos in today’s housing crisis.
Workshops:
Workshop: Newspaper Theatre with Sabrina Speranza
This workshop explores the first branch of Theatre of the Oppressed: "Newspaper theatre". In this workshop, participants will adapt news stories into dynamic performances, dissecting media bias and revealing what is not being said. Participants will create theatrical responses to current issues, transforming everyday news into a catalyst for dialogue and social change.
Workshop: Legislative Theatre with José Soeiro
Join José Soeiro from Portugal for an immersive workshop in Legislative Theatre, a method for transforming societal issues into interactive performances that lead to political action. Participants will learn to stage real-life challenges, encouraging audiences to propose laws or policy changes. This workshop empowers communities to address pressing issues and enact change collectively.
Workshop: Forum Theatre with Ana Ni Lochlainn and Janna Lindstrom
In this workshop, participants will investigate Theatre of the Oppressed techniques, specifically forum theatre. This includes exploration of the displacement through the systemic and structural power lens.
About our facilitators:
Sabrina Speranza: Sabrina Speranza is an Uruguayan actress, educator, and social activist who has practiced Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) since 2005. She studied with Augusto Boal at the Centro do Teatro do Oprimido in Rio de Janeiro and has trained with Jana Sanskriti in India. Her experience includes TO work with children and teens in vulnerable settings, as well as facilitating TO training for educators. Sabrina focuses on Newspaper Theatre, and she has toured an original play for over five years in Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, and Portugal. She has published in The Routledge Companion to Theatre of the Oppressed and presented at conferences worldwide. Her PhD research at the University of Birmingham explores adapting Newspaper Theatre for the digital era. Sabrina also teaches Drama History and Analysis and Theatre in Prisons at Uruguay’s Drama School of Montevideo.
José Soeiro: José Soeiro is an activist, sociologist, and renowned Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner from Portugal. With expertise in Legislative Theatre, he has pioneered performances that bridge theatre and political action, empowering communities to propose and advocate for policy changes. Soeiro’s work integrates social justice with creative expression, inspiring audiences to engage directly in democratic processes. Passionate about community-led change, he has facilitated numerous workshops and collaborations across Europe, fostering dialogues on labor rights, social inequality, and human rights.
Anne Loftus: Is a Reflective (Community) Education and Development Practitioner, activist and one the founders of Theatre for Change - Galway (TforCG). She has been facilitating workshops across a range of social justice issues for over 20 years. Anne targets issues such as inclusion, poverty, Trauma Informed Care and system change through her work with Educational and Community Development, EAPN, IDEC and she also lectures in the University of Galway on the BA Child, Youth, Family - Policy & Practice. Anne has been facilitating Theatre of the Oppressed training the trainer workshops and been part of TforCG’s Forum Theatre projects since 2014.
Janna Lindstrom: Janna Lindstrom is a Swedish dramapedagogue, dramatherapist and actress, active in Galway, Ireland. She has facilitated Applied Drama and Theatre in Education since 2004 and is one of the founding members in Theatre for Change - Galway. Janna has many years of experience within Youth Work and Educational settings, but is currently mainly working with intellectually disabled artists and actors. Her work concentrates on personal development, empowerment of the individual through creative processes. She has been facilitating Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) training and performances for and with professionals within Youth, Children, Social Work and Community Development through Theatre for Change Galway since 2015. She also lectures in University of Galway on the BA Child, Youth, Family - Policy and Practice.
Performer: Fadl Mustapha: Fadl Mohamad Mustapha, a Palestinian refugee born in Beirut, Lebanon, a third generation survivor of the Nakba, living in Ireland for the past 18 years, married with 3 daughters. An actor and theatre facilitator, an activist, a part-time lecturer, co-chair of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, County Donegal Branch, co-chair of the Black Minority Ethnic Inclusion Strategy Implementation Group, County Donegal, chair of the Earagail Arts Festival, Donegal and a youth/community worker in the Donegal Youth Service.
About the organisers:
Creativity and Change, MTU: Creativity and Change aims to nurture changemakers and imagine a better world. We offer a level 9 special purpose award in addition to local and national events and workshops.
Development perspectives: Development Perspectives is an independent Global Citizenship Education non-governmental organisation and registered charity based in Drogheda, Co. Louth, who works with partners all over Ireland and the world to work towards a vision that everyone “live in an equitable, just and sustainable world”.
Theatre for Change Galway: Theatre for Change Galway uses Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) to examine social issues in order to empower people to bring about personal and social change. Their mission is to spread the use of TO as a method within communities in Ireland.
Ticket Information:
Ticket prices
- Standard ticket (food, accommodation, conference fee €100) - €295.00
- Discount ticket (food, accommodation, conference fee 75) - €270.00
- Standard ticket +food only - €170.00
- Discount ticket +food only - €150.00
Ticket information:
We have kept costs to as minimal as possible thanks to subsidisation from Irish Aid, Erasmus+, Afri and Meath part”nership. Tickets also includes entrance to all performances, and transport to the Battle of the Boyne location
To apply for a discounted or scholarship fee, please email chriszine.backhouse@cit.ie explaining your reason for the request. Scholarships are limited and priority is for those who are volunteering at the festival.
Meals included:
- Breakfast on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
- Lunch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
- Dinner on Friday and Saturday
Accommodation:
- Accommodation will be in a hostel in Drogheda. Rooms will be shared. If you would like to book alternative accommodation, you can select a ticket with food only.
