Nos do Morro - a 'dialogical' methodology?

Nos do Morro is a theatre company which works in the favela community of Vidigal, overlooking Rio's Zona Sul. Marina Coutinho, who wrote a master's dissertation on the company, has noted how its origins have links with a Freirean 'dialogical' approach.

Many of the early plays, written by Paulo Correa e Castro, came out of a devising and improvising process with actors from the community. The art is produced through dialogue between artists and the Vidigal community. The main aim is artistic excellence. The measurements of social good can be made, but the company gives primacy to the Art of the Theatre. It was the distinctiveness of this approach, combined with the Freirean perspective, that drew me to work with the company.

The two previous projects, Hackney to the Favela 2005, and Knock against my Heart 2008, placed dialogue at the centre of the process.

http://www.knockagainstmyheart.blogspot.com

In 2009, my project still places dialogue at the heart and looks at the relationship between the company and Shakespeare (Nos do Morro performed at the RSC Complete Works Festival 2006); and the relationship between the company and new writing.