The Rainbow of Desire: The Boal Method of Theatre and Therapy

by Augusto Boal

Book Overview

Rainbow of Desire is a handbook of exercises with a difference. It is Augusto Boal's bold and brilliant statement about the therapeutic ability of theatre to liberate individuals and change lives. Now translated into English and comprehensively updated from the French, Rainbow of Desire sets out the techniques which help us see' for the first time the oppressions we have internalised.
Boal, a Brazilian theatre director, writer and politician,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415103495
• ISBN13: 9780415103497
• Release Date: December 1994
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.9" x 9.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

A Transformational View of Theatre and Psychotherapy

While it is true that some of his work truly needs participation in workshops to understand, the entirety of the late Augusto Boal's vision and practice remains the most revolutionary and transformational of at least the last fifty years, if not many more. His use of Image Theatre brings a profound physicality to psychotherapeutic techniques, one which brings the whole person into a therapy process. Moreover, the approach also asks for extensive collaboraton while at the same time not putting the subject in an overly-vulnerable situation. To the contrary, the group becomes a co-creator and support network while the imaging and dialogue proceed. Boal's final exploration into linking Rainbow to Forum Theatre promises an even broader expansion of TO possibilities. The book will likely become a theatre classic, along with Boal's other texts, equaling the influence of Brecht and Stanislavsky, and perhaps even Aristotle. I urge readers who are genuinely taken by Boal's writings to find workshops led by experienced practitioners. See the PTO website for one site of possible assistance: [...]