Popular theatre and BRAC

Abstract

The objectives of the study include evaluation of the popular theatre of BRAC as being performed, the extent of the messages being communicated through theatre, evaluate the changes brought about in the attitude of the attendees towards theatre, and the extent they take initiative in their development. We intensively observed two popular theatres (one organized by the Social Development Programme and the other by the Advocacy Programme of BRAC) and the catchments of these theatres. The villagers from the catchments, i.e., treatment group, were compared with a control group from villages where theatre was never held in terms of certain attributes related to theatres. Findings indicate that the programmes have standardized the process of conducting theatre without sufficient participation of the community for whom the theatres were being played. In spite of this the theatres were well communicated to the audiences, because the themes of the theatres were part of their experience. The theatres managed to conscientize them and brought a change in their attitudes. The audiences did not transform their changed attitude into action for development because they considered the theatres as entertainment only. They did not have a sense of ownership to it as they were not a part in the selection of the play, organizing it and acting in the theatre.