Critical Stages (Jun 2018)
Theatre, Cancer and Catharsis: The Hospital as an Agora
Abstract
The article analyzes the Social and Community Theatre project Cantiere San Giovanni Antica Sede (2006-08). The project took place at San Giovanni Antica Sede Oncological Hospital in Turin. Led by a team of professionals, the artistic process engaged the entire hospital community—doctors, patients, nurses, caregivers, chefs, custodians—by means of theater workshops, training courses for high school students, dramaturgy readings in the day hospital waiting room, visual installations, performances and big ritual events open to the public. The hospital became a place of “Agorà” in the context of a great cathartic ritual for the community.
