THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED AND HEALTH PROMOTION: BUILDING DIALOGUES

Abstract The aim of this study is to discuss the contributions of the theatre of the oppressed in health promotion and to collaborate with the improvement of the consolidation of this dialogue in practice experiences. Comparing the main perspectives of health promotion, there is a mismatch between the ethical, aesthetic and political foundations of the theatre of the oppressed and the theoretical assumptions of the behaviorist health promotion, because this kind of theatre pulls away from any attempt at domestication of bodies and norms of behavior, habits and lifestyles to reach healthy standards. There are greater consonance between the theatre of the oppressed and the new health promotion, its politicization and its searches to approach scientific and technical knowledge with popular knowledge, since both seek the fortification of humane practice that put in question the status quo and the social change towards a libertarian and critical transformation.