The Forum Theatre play “Who Could Imagine?” was produced by Theatre for Changes – the leading interactive theatre company in Armenia in 2010 with the support of United Nations Population Fund to commemorate International World AIDS Day 2010. The play has been successfully presented in Yerevan and in several regional communities of Armenia for over 2000 young people aged 18-26.

Forum Theatre (also known as Boal’s Theatre) is an interactive form of theatre that encourages audience interaction and explores different options for dealing with a problem or issue. An audience is shown a short-ish play in which a central character (protagonist) encounters an oppression or obstacle which s/he is unable to overcome; the subject-matter will usually be something of immediate importance to the audience, often based on a shared life experience. 

When the play has been performed members of the audience can take to the stage and suggest alternative options for how the protagonist could have acted. The actors explore the results of these choices with the audience creating a kind of theatrical debate, in which experiences and ideas are rehearsed and shared, generating both solidarity and a sense of empowerment.

Forum Theatre allows people to ‘get into the shoes’ of those who are stigmatized. This helps them to empathize and understand how it feels. Role-playing allows people to try out new behaviors and skills on a non-threatening environment. It helps people confront situations which they have a difficulty with and try out new approaches to them.