Forum Theatre

A scene of conflict is played out. The audience — "spect-actors" — can stop the action and replace any character to try a different tactic. Developed by Augusto Boal, adapted for ELT as a speaking-heavy exploration of problem situations.

Procedure

1. Scene setup: a small group (3–4) prepares a 2-minute scene showing a conflict — customer service complaint, family disagreement, workplace bullying, intercultural misunderstanding.
2. Play the scene. It ends badly (the problem is unresolved or worsens).
3. Play it again. This time, any audience member can shout Stop!, walk into the scene, replace a character, and try a different approach.
4. Replay continues with different interventions. Multiple solutions get tested.
5. Debrief: which intervention worked best? What language did it use? What intervention didn't help, and why?

Why It Works

• Authentic problem-solving: real interpersonal conflicts — not textbook scenarios — drive the language.
• Active audience: everyone is potentially a participant; attention is high.
• Functional language under pressure: polite refusal, apology, negotiation, escalation — all rehearsed in real contexts.
• Multi-perspective: the same scene from 4 interventions yields 4 different linguistic strategies.

Good Conflict Scenes

• Customer returns a faulty product, clerk refuses.
• Roommate confrontation about chores, loudness, guests.
• Parent-teenager argument about curfew or screen time.
• Workplace: manager refuses a reasonable request from an employee.
• Intercultural encounter: a misunderstanding based on different norms.
• Bystander situation: someone witnesses rudeness on public transport.

Variations

• Written intervention: audience writes their attempted script on a card; actors perform it.
• Silent forum: interventions must use no speech — only gesture, posture, and sound.
• Reverse forum: audience can only replace the antagonist — the one causing the problem — forcing rethinking of the aggressor's role, not just the victim's response.
• Digital forum: groups film and share scenes; class discussion board proposes interventions.

Tips

• Pre-teach functional language before forum theatre. Negotiation phrases, assertive refusals, de-escalation language.
• The scene must have a clear problem. Diffuse or ambiguous scenes produce diffuse interventions.
• Debrief is critical. What language made this intervention work? is where the teaching happens.
• Not suitable for very sensitive topics without careful framing — students must opt in to roles, especially the role of the oppressor/aggressor.

Source

Boal, A. (1979) Theatre of the Oppressed. Pluto Press. Boal's Games for Actors and Non-Actors (1992) catalogues many forum-adjacent techniques. Used widely in CLIL and drama-in-education traditions.