(Dis)Placed is a Theatre of the Oppressed festival exploring displacement and belonging. Through workshops, performances on the housing crisis, a play on Palestine, and a reflective trip to the Battle of the Boyne, participants will engage in global and local dialogues on land, identity, and solidarity, inspiring community-driven change.
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”—the experience of moving from, or being removed, from where one belongs. In exploring connections between Palestine, immigration and the housing crises, (Dis)Placed seeks to spark local action from a global awareness of displacement.
Workshops:
The festival offers a rich lineup of workshops designed to deepen participants’ understanding of Theatre of the Oppressed techniques. Together, these sessions will provide an immersive experience into powerful methods for analysing and transforming societal issues through theatre.
Workshops include:
- Newspaper theatre with Sabrina Speranza from Uruguay,
- Legislative theatre with José Soeiro, from Portugal
- 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 compelling 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. This journey offers participants an opportunity to explore how these legacies resonate in Irish solidarity with Palestine and connect to today’s housing crisis.
By combining learning, reflection, and action, (Dis)Placed invites participants to move from passive observation to active engagement in writing a new narrative of belonging. This festival serves as a platform for dialogue, healing, humour, and empowerment, encouraging communities to unite and imagine new ways to reclaim home and belonging in the face of displacement.
Workshop: Newspaper Theatre with Sabrina Speranza
Discover the power of Newspaper Theatre with Sabrina Speranza from Uruguay. This hands-on workshop teaches participants to adapt news stories into dynamic performances, dissecting media bias and highlighting hidden voices. Engage in creating 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 inspire 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
Engage in Forum Theatre with Ana Ni Lochlainn and Janna Lindstrom, creating scenes of oppression and conflict. Participants will learn the foundations of creating a forum theatre scene which can be used to foster creative problem-solving, empowering communities to confront real-life challenges with solidarity and resilience.
Ticket information:
We have kept costs to as minimal as possible thanks to subsidisation from Irish Aid, Erasmus+, Afri and Meath partnership.
About the organisers:
Creativity and Change, MTU: Creativity & Change makes space for learning about creativity and its power to ignite empathy, passion and learning about our interdependent world. Rooted in values of empathy, social justice, and sustainability, it blends artistic expression with critical thinking to address pressing global challenges. Through workshops, experiential learning, and community engagement, Creativity and Change equips learners with tools to inspire action, challenge inequities, and envision a better world. It’s a space where art meets activism, unlocking the potential for positive, lasting societal impact.
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. Activities include ‘Train the Trainers’ workshops for professionals working within the social field and youth work. They facilitate projects using public spaces to encourage dialogue around social and community issues like ‘belonging’ and ‘inclusion’. In addition they have been involved in the dissemination of research results to the participating communities through several research projects in collaboration with University of Limerick – School of Medicine, University of Galway – School of Political Science, and the UNESCO Family Research. In addition they have delivered workshops as part of International Conferences on using Applied Drama within research and education (Scenario – TCD, DSA Ireland)
Development Perspectives: The mission of Development perspectives is to tackle poverty, inequality and climate change through transformative education and active global citizenship. Our work explores, examines and acts upon a range of issues and challenges that face our world. In order for this to work effectively, we use participatory and interactive learning methods to ensure the greatest impact for participants of our programmes.
Upstate Theatre Project: Upstate Theatre Project is a community-engaged performing arts organisation adhering to collective and collaborative approaches in keeping with principles of cultural democracy. Upstate was founded in 1997 and has pursued a collaborative, participatory practice since its inception.
Afri: Afri’s goal is the promotion of global justice and peace, and the reduction of poverty; this includes, but is not limited to, the progressive reduction of global militarisation, and responding to the threat of climate change, corporate control of resources and water, and interference with food sovereignty.
Meath Partnership: Meath Partnership is a dynamic, not-for-profit community organisation established in 2006 to deliver a range of rural, social and economic programmes across County Meath. The organisation’s services and initiatives tackle exclusion and disadvantage, playing a strategic role in the economic development of the County. All activities are guided by a bottom-up approach directly responding to the needs of the community and are available to residents and organisations living and working in Meath.