Forum theatre and community engagement.

Background: Theatre of the Oppressed is a creative tool for personal and social transformation. Created by Augusto Boal, it has its genesis in the work of the educationist Paulo Freire. 1  In a Forum Theatre (FT), the spectators are transformed into ‘Spect-actors’ thereby changing the course of the scene. 2 As medical students encounter various experiences of Oppression during their training and professional tenure, FT was used as a means to help them understand how to change the course of action under such circumstances. This paper tries to explore forum theatre and community engagement with 'medical students' as the target sector.  Methodology: A forum theatre was designed for 150 medical students, where 3 plays were enacted on particular themes decided during the workshop. Participants picked the theme to which they could best relate. It was performed again and again with the students replacing the characters (except the oppressor) at any point they wished to, to provide possible solution. Open and closed ended feedback was taken at the end. Result:  Of 150 participants enrolled, 120 responded to the questionnaire with an 80% response rate. Most of the students found the FT very engaging; felt empathy and concern for the oppressed; felt it helped them express themselves better and can contribute to a change in perspective. They felt it was exciting to transform from passive observers (spectators) to active participants. A majority also said that this could help them in identifying and addressing their problems better. Conclusion: The participants were given a platform where they experienced that strategic intervention is the key to 'change'. The exercise helped them not merely to advise but to discover what they, themselves can do and can prevent. The forum theatre challenged the senses, offering a promising and enjoyable medical humanities option. Keywords: Humanities/education; Education, medical, Theatre of the Oppressed; Forum theatre; References: Boal A. Games for actors and non-actors . Psychology Press; 2002. Gupta S, Agrawal A, Singh S, Singh N. Theatre of the Oppressed in medical humanities education: the road less travelled. Indian J Med Ethics . 2013 Jul-Sep;10(3):200-3.