'Nor Are We Just Passing Through': Muriel Naessens, political consistency, and feminist theatre of the oppressed by Kelly Howe
Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed (TO) provides an exceptionally promising framework for enabling oppressed peoples to devise actions against their oppressors through the arts. In the linked article, Howe discussed the TO work of Muriel Naessens and how her decision to use the techniques solely for feminist ends weighed on others’ awareness and perceptions of her as a TO practitioner.
Howe raises the point that Naessens’ work may not be as well known as other jokers’ that addressed a broad range of topics, and very forthrightly rejects the impulse to categorise activists as the ‘real deal’ or ‘sell outs’. Further delving into this topic, discussion of the relationship between Naessens and Margy Nelson highlights the contention among TO practitioners as to what degree a joker should impart their own political undertakings onto spect-actors. Though mostly positive, Howe’s ode to Naessens provides a deeper perspective into the discourse surrounding the role of joker in TO.
