Practices of Freedom within and against Unfreedom

At the crossroads of Theatre Studies, Critical Pedagogy and Abolition Studies, Samantha Pires Vianna retraces a genealogy of theatre in Brazilian sites of incarceration, from resistance to enslavement to contemporary prison theatre programmes. This historicisation opens avenues of inquiry for a close reading of Banho de Sol (Zula Cia. de Teatro, 2019), a work of participatory theatre documenting the encounter of four theatre teachers with incarcerated women. Foregrounding structural racism, gender oppression, and colonial legacies as core concerns, the author examines body, memory and commotion strategies to demonstrate how theatre may expose carceral structures, activate bonds of solidarity and open abolitionist horizons.