Dramaturgy of resilience

Theatre in prison as a tool to rewrite the personal story

Abstract

The Spanish penitentiary system considers that deprivation of liberty should have as a priority objective the re-education and social reintegration of convicted persons. To what extent can a theatrical activity contribute to these objectives? This article attempts to answer this question by presenting a methodology inspired by the “Theatre of the Oppressed” and its implementation through the activities developed since 2018 in two prisons in the Canary Islands (Spain). The benefits and impact of this activity are reported through the verbalisations of its participants: a group of fifteen inmate actors.