Die politische Bühne? Politisches Theater und das ‘Bezugsgewebe menschlicher Angelegenheiten

The connections and the boundaries between aesthetics and politics has been a matter of intense debate ever since, and especially the political meaning of theater is controversial. The Brazilian theater maker Augusto Boal clearly argued for the political, democratizing function of participatory theater. With regard to the political theory of Hannah Arendt we discuss the nexus of theater and politics while using current practical examples to illustrate the potentials as well as the limitations of political theater.