Ninth-grade students from the National Commercial High School in Plovdiv immersed themselves in a different and emotional experience in which theatre became not just an art form, but a way to be heard, to express a position, and to seek solutions to real problems.
A special guest at the school was theatre director Boris Zafirov, who led an interactive workshop – forum theatre. With great energy, a sense of humor, and an impressive approach to young people, he skillfully “played” with the students, provoking them to think, react, and step into different roles. In just a few minutes, the hall turned into a space for dialogue, emotions, and active engagement.
At the center of the theatrical situation was a topic that concerns and affects more and more young people – aggression in public spaces. The students observed a scene with a conflict situation that ended negatively, and then they themselves searched for ways in which the outcome could be changed. The most interesting moment came when the ninth-graders stepped onto the stage and replaced the actors to show through their own actions how a conflict situation can be handled in an intelligent, calm, and safe way.
Forum theatre, which emerged in the 1960s in Brazil, aims not just to present problems, but to make people seek solutions together. This is exactly what the NTG students managed to do – with activity, courage, and impressive commitment, they proved that young people have opinions, sensitivity, and a desire to be part of positive change.
The meeting passed with enormous interest, and the emotion in the hall did not subside until the very last minute.
