Mapa Teatro: Dramaturgies of Decolonisation

Abstract

This article explores the hybrid, transdisciplinary, and docufictional aesthetics of Mapa Teatro’s theatrical work by discussing the theatre project Anatomía de la Violencia en Colombia (2010-2014), with a special focus on the performance Los Incontados: un tríptico (2014). It will demonstrate that the specific aesthetics of Mapa Teatro’s work cannot be seen isolated from the legacy of Colombian theatre and performance history. The claim is put forward that Mapa Teatro transforms the lines of dramaturgies of decolonialisation that can be traced back to previous epochs of Colombian theatre since the 1960s which was deeply concerned with the violent Colombian reality. Against the background of (Latin American) theories of decolonisation, it will become apparent that the theatrical language that the group has developed is closely related to (post)colonial intellectual history and to artistic traditions that are marked by violent frictions between globaland local points of view.