
About
Specta(c)tor is a Genevan theatre forum association.
Theatre forum is an interactive social form of theatre. In a theatre forum, a scene presents a social or societal problem to the audience. The scene is then played a second time, but this time members of the audience are invited to stop the scene and take the place of one of the characters in an attempt to solve the problem. Click here to find out more about theatre forum!
We work in English and French, as well as using non-verbal methods such as image theatre.
Specta(c)tor was born when Kléa Faniko, a professor at the University of Geneva, commissioned a theatre forum with the objective of fighting sexist discrimination in the context of academic research.
The play thus created is called Coffee Machine, which quickly led to other proposals, thus necessitating the creation of our collective.
Since then, we’ve created a second theatre forum, on the subject of racism, that we have presented in Geneva, Bern, Lausanne, Neuchâtel and Écublens, in schools, international organisations, social centres, and many other types of organisation.





What is theatre forum?
Theatre forum and Theatre of the Oppressed more broadly are interactive forms of theatre originally conceptualised by Augusto Boal in communities facing oppression in rural areas of Brazil and subsequently developed by other practitioners worldwide.
Unlike traditional theatre, the audience in theatre forum has the opportunity to intervene, thus transforming its members into "specta(c)tors" (hence the name of our association).
In practice, how does a theatre forum by Specta(c)tor unfolds?
We always begin with simple and effective warm-ups to create a sense of support and community within the group, awaken the collective imagination, and get into our bodies. Next, we present a scene lasting between thirty seconds and ten minutes in which all the characters make poor decisions, leading to a negative outcome. At the end of the scene, the audience is asked whether they believe the situations presented exist in reality and whether they find them unacceptable. Since our scenes are created based on substantial research, both questions almost always receive a unanimous “yes!” The scenes are then replayed, but this time, members of the audience have the opportunity to interact with the scene in various ways, including saying 'stop.' When this happens, the person who spoke up is invited (never forced) to come on stage to take the place of a character and show what that character could have done to find a better resolution to the situation. The actors respond to these suggestions with improvisation techniques fueled by their own research on the subject. Thanks to our role as facilitators rather than teachers, our approach allows for the group to gain an awareness of the tools and solutions that already exist within the group. We acknowledge the need for awareness-raising workshops in which new tools are introduced from the outside, but we adopt a different stance that also deserves its place. Therefore, our theatre forums enable the testing of different ways of acting in problematic situations, all within a safe, caring environment that encourages discussion.
Agenda
Here is our agenda. You will find the dates when it is possible to join us.
Our public theatre forums:
Theatre forum on racism
We will play on the:
- 13th of March 2025, from 7PM to 9PM, at la Traverse (Rue du Môle 11, 1201 Geneva)
- 14th of March 2025, from 7PM to 9PM, at la Traverse (Rue du Môle 11, 1201 Geneva)
If you want to book your place for the 13th and 14th of March, you can do so by clicking on this link. On both days, we'll be performing a theatre forum featuring scenes from everyday life. These scenes, which are based in particular on testimonies that we have collected around the school world, are accessible to all!
- 19th of March 2025, from 4:30PM to 6:30PM, at UNIL’s Nucleo-Vortex (Rte de Praz Véguey 29, 1022 Chavannes-près-Renens).
- 20th of March 2025, from 4:15PM to 5:15PM, at Uni Dufour, salle U600 (Rue Général-Dufour 24, 1204 Geneva), where you can come without a reservation.
- 25th of March 2025, from 12:15PM to 2:15PM, at EPFL, in English.
If you want to come to UNIL or EPFL, please contact us at info@specta-c-tor.ch so that we can put you in touch with the people in charge of the ticket offices.
⚠️ The following dates are reserved for specific audiences ⚠️
- 12th of March 2025, from 7PM to 9PM, at la Traverse (Rue du Môle 11, 1201 Geneva), for the FASe employees.
- 18th of March 2025, from 12:15PM to 1:45PM, at the Maison du peuple de Lausanne (Pl. Chauderon, 1103 Lausanne), for any person employed by the City of Lausanne.
- 21st of March 2025, de 2:30PM to 4:45PM, at the HEP de Lausanne, for people who work for the Vaud school system.
Coffee Machine

New dates to be announced soon!


Contact us
You came to one of our performances and you loved our show?
Is there anything you didn’t like?
We would love to hear from you.
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Support us
Not every institution can afford our performances.
If you’d like to help us offer our theatre forums to institutions that need them but are unable to pay for them, there’s