Political theatre

Through political theatre, people are able to emphasise and define issues by addressing them in the arena of theatrical art, a place where political issues have been examined since the beginning of drama. Political theatre encourages the exploration of universal and central themes and issues to human communities and societies who define themselves as politically conscious.

Feminist playwright, Caryl Churchill has been heavily involved with political theatre. The following is an exert from Feminism, appearing in Different Types of Feminist Theories by Cara Stewart:

‘Feminism is the organised movement which promotes equality for men and women in political, economic and social spheres. Feminists believe that women are oppressed simple due to their sex based on the dominant ideology of patriarchy. Ridding society of patriarchy will result in liberation for women, men, minorities, and gays.'

It was Churchill's beliefs in materialist feminism that led her to the Romanian Revolution in a study into oppressed people and their empowerment.

Shortly after the Romanian Revolution in 1989, Churchill took a group of students from the London School of Drama to Bucharest to study the effects of the revolution of the Romanian people; the resulting play Mad Forest captures the chaos of revolution and the endurance of Romania in a historically true and compelling piece of theatre.

The empowerment of a people to rise as one against an oppressor is a fantastic example of the materialist feminist idea of ‘group over individual'. To enable a radical and persistent change in society is what lies at the core of the feminist belief system, the expectation that enlightened and determined action can bring about positive change that liberates oppressed peoples is certainly the corner-stone of this play.

Another issue, perhaps not so positive, arising from Mad Forest is that revolution is the procedure or course, as if in a circuit, that returns back to a starting point. In the case of the Romanian Revolution, it is defined by the changeover from Ceausescu and communism to Ion Iliescu and neo-communism, going from one oppressor to another.