Freire and Drama - 'Marilia', a Play - Anti-Oppression and Healing in the Arts

This book introduces Freire’s theoretical concepts as they relate to playwriting and theatre. User-friendly and concise, the book shows how anyone interested in social justice and self-healing can use drama/performance as an accessible vehicle for exploring the root causes and effects of oppression. It centres on the text of the author’s award-wining one-person play, Marília, about the death of his three-year-old sister during the Brazilian dictatorship (1964-1985), his gender identity, childhood trauma, and experiences as an undocumented immigrant in the USA. The play exemplifies many of Freire ideas and Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed is also drawn heavily upon. Alongside the play is boxed commentary with definitions and explanations of key concepts, to clearly narrate Freire’s and Boal’s teachings. Also discussed in separate chapters are the themes of critical consciousness; art and mental health; the socioeconomic issues at the root of oppression; and drama for self-healing and advocacy.