Awareness community theatre: A local response to HIV and AIDS in papua new guinea

Abstract

This essay examines the Tokaut AIDS Awareness Community Theatre (ACT) model for HIV prevention and its application in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Key to the ACT approach was realising early on that the HIV epidemic was not only a medical issue, but also a social one. This essay explores the development of locally devised theatre content that highlights participation and agency as important to the approach. Five key considerations for sustained community theatre approaches emerged from the process. These include: the process of co-creating scripts, designing culturally relevant content, implementing a layered approach, engaging in a multi-sectoral approach and generating site-specific creative developments. The theoretical framing of this essay was drawn from concepts of community theatre and dramaturgy.