A céu aberto: an exercise in community theater, between the forces of nature, the ancestry of the rural world and the (necessary) resistance in the face of the imminence of the overwhelming destruction of capitalist mining

Abstract

The article presents the process of creation in community theater of the show A Céu Aberto, by the Teatro do Campo group, from Associação Cultural Rural Vivo, held in Terras de Bouro, Portugal, between February and June 2022. The montage reflects on the attack to the ancestry of the rural world, on the verge of capitalist advance, for the desired exploitation of lithium. We point out that resistance has been undertaken by local populations and by various groups of activists. The Theater of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal and some principles of the Community Theater guided the dramatic creation, based on the analysis of some games of force and power that are placed in the current scenario of mining exploration, in a context of environmental crisis. Scenic experiments were carried out, around situations and conflicts researched in the media and also with populations affected by mining, in the recent past. For the soundtrack we selected already existing songs, and also created some new lyrics and melodies and parodies, sung by the actors. A cosmopolitical vision supports our view in analyzing the phenomenon of mining in rural environments. The concept of a(r)tivism was not part of the assumptions that nourished the creative process. However, it seems appropriate, to situate the theatrical show produced, the point of view that it defends, and the critical dimension that it imagines that the public can develop, from the fruition.