Headlines Theatre was founded in 1981 by a group of politically active artists. Since then it has produced many hundreds of projects and has become a world leader in community specific, issue-oriented theatre, winning numerous awards. While we call our community work THEATRE FOR LIVING, it is based on Brazilian Director Augusto Boal's "Theatre of the Oppressed".

Headlines offers one day, investigative workshops, up to six-day "in community" workshops that go to performance on local issues.

Directed and Joked by David Diamond Featuring Students from Gladstone and Tupper Secondary Schools

Don't Say A Word, an original forum theatre play created by students from Gladstone and Sir Charles Tupper Secondary Schools. This play is based on their experiences of bullying, harassment, intimidation and violence. The language of theatre allows them to communicate the truth of these experiences in a symbolic way. The title, Don't Say A Word, reflects the code of silence that prevents us all from stopping violence or seeking support.

Forum theatre takes a moment from real life and theatricalizes it in order to create a symbolic moment in time that a larger audience - friends and families who are also dealing with these issues - can work on. When forum is performed, audiences are invited to jump onto the stage and into the lives of the characters to test ideas for resolving conflicts.

This style of performance and dialogue is more than talking about the problems; it asks audiences to practice solutions. Rather than putting forward a didactic message, it engages the community in making meaningful choices. And, as our audiences have told us many times, the experience is engaging, enlightening, fun and even transformative.