Abstract

Cecilia Thumim Boal, born in Buenos Aires, worked in the 1960s as an actress, director, and television writer. In 1966, she joined the cast of the Teatro de Arena in São Paulo; she participated in various Arena productions in Brazil and in other countries. She was Augusto Boal’s partner from that time, having moved to São Paulo to live with him. When Boal was arrested and tortured, Cecilia returned to Buenos Aires with her son Fabian, in 1971. Boal later joined, beginning a period of exile in Argentina, which lasted for five years. In Buenos Aires, Boal directed several shows and wrote books such as Theatre of the Oppressed and the novel Miracle in Brazil, about the military dictatorship in Brazil. During this period of exile in Argentina, Boal organized the Latin American Opinion Fair in New York, with the involvement of several playwrights, writers, and set design by Helio Oiticica. In this interview with Cecilia Boal—who accompanied Boal across this entire period and has presided, since 2010, over the Augusto Boal Institute—we seek to rescue this experience. ¹