POLITICAL ACTIVISM AS A FORM OF THEATRE

Abstract

Nowadays political activism can be considered as a form of theatre: its strategies and tactics often employ the means proposed by Brecht and other thinkers of the political theatre. However, there is a paradox if artistic activism is being practised exclusively in the artistic context, it can find itself in a deadlock. The article is dedicated to the phenomenon of artistic activism, exploring such examples as protest movements born in the UK “Reclaim the Streets” and “Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army”, “Nano-rallies” in Barnaul, Russia, the act of “The Standing Man” in Turkey, and the activities in media space by the American activist collective “The Yes Men”. The artists create the language and aesthetics of protest merging the borders of life, art and protest.