STAGES OF EMPATHY

 

 

Stages of Empathy.

A Forum Theatre presentation devised by Rebus Theatre. Cast: Zander Hammer-Wooda. Jay Taylor. Josh Rose. Facilitator Sammy Moynihan. Ralph Wilson Theatre. Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centre. August 1^st. 2025. For tour bookings and free performances in your workplace or organization go to www.rebustheatre.com

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

The cast of Stages of Empathy - Rebus Theatre

To quote the  Stages of Empathy programme: “Rebus is an inclusive company based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country that brings healing and social change across our city, region and country. We work with people who have experienced marginalization to create innovative, powerful performances in workplaces, community halls and theatres.” Rebus’s latest production, Stages of Empathy, has been inspired by the theories and practices of Brazilian director, the late Augusto  Boal. Like Rebus, Boal believed that theatre is a powerful tool for healing and social change. In order to achieve this Boal believed that actors and audience must be active participants in the act of theatre if change was  to be brought about by the actions and voice of the entire community. To this end he created Forum Theatre, which Rebus facilitator, Sammy Moynihan, trained in while  undertaking Boal workshops in Brazil. Boal believed that every member of an audience was a “spectactor” and was invited to change the action and direction of a scene and the attitude of the characters in order to effect change and improve people’s lives through the awareness of empathy and empowerment.

Sammy Moynihan is The Joker

Rebus actors under Moynihan’s guidance, devise a scenario. The scene is played out by the three actors, Josh Rose as Terry, the CEO of a community organization. Jay Taylor as Community Services Officer Lee and Zander Hammer Woods as an employee Alex and also an artist, Jordan, invited to exhibit at an Open Day. As the scene unfolds the audience learns that Terry is authoritarian, Lee suffers hyperactive anxiety, Alex is non communicative and Jordan suffers from a number of phobias and panic attacks.

Each scene is played out, and then rewound. Moynihan takes on the facilitator’s role which Boal termed  The Joker. His role is to encourage the audience to say STOP when they believe that they have a solution to an evident conflict or lack of communication and empathy. They then take the place of the character whom they believe can be changed in attitude or behavior. The scene is then played out with the spectactor in the role. The spectactor may have solved the conflict or they may have to leave it to another member of the audience to suggest a different approach. This process is repeated until different choices effect change. As actors and audience improvise new solutions,  their inclusion in the attempt to reach a solution highlights the theatrical power of theatre to bring about change through shared empathy. 

The stages of empathy are explicit in the effective contributions of the spectactors who become aware of their own commitment to effecting change through the choices they make and the solutions that they are able to suggest. At the performance that I attended it was obvious that each participating member of the audience was thoroughly committed and involved in solving a problem and strive for a positive outcome to that problem, whether it be due to a character’s personality or the general situation.

It is this obvious care for people and commitment to help overcome problems that proved cathartic for performer and audience member alike.

Throughout Moynihan guided actor and spectactor gently, inviting feedback and reinforcing the positive contribution of each spectactor, who was met with spontaneous applause from actors and audience alike. Their contribution was valued in an atmosphere of genuine support and encouragement.  

Rebus’s actors are neither professional nor experienced amateurs. What was evident was their commitment to the role of Forum Theatre in providing a theatrical platform for the inclusion of people with disabilities and the power of theatre to change social conditions and attitudes for the better. If the aim of theatre is for audiences to leave a theatre in some way changed by the experience then Stages of Empathy is a success and an excellent example of Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre.