The People Act:
A hub for legislative theatre and creative civic practice. 

Participatory democracy on stage

Legislative Theatre brings residents and policymakers together to co-create innovative and effective solutions to complex challenges, promoting equity, creativity, and fun in local and national political spheres. 

How does it work?

watch

Community members create and perform original plays based on lived experiences and participatory research, addressing local or national policy challenges.

act

Audience members step onstage to improvise alternatives to the problems presented, testing new rules and policies in real time.

propose

Audiences, advocates and policy-makers collaboratively shape these ideas into specific policy proposals, followed by deliberation, debate, and amendments.

vote

Everyone present votes on the proposals, and policymakers and advocates make commitments to action – using theatre to spark concrete change.

Legislative Theatre Around the World

The People Say

  • It was incredible how quickly the issues rose to the surface, how easy it was to spot them during the play, and how naturally solutions seemed to arise as a result.

    Policy Lead, Dept for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK

  • We say it a lot, but this really is doing things differently. Challenge, creativity, comedy - all in the name of policymaking.

    Commissioner, Greater Manchester Combined Authority

  • The Legislative Theatre was creative, engaging and had a real impact on the people participating. We need more and better democracy, and this made democracy fun.

    Advocate, The Poverty Alliance, Scotland

let’s work together

For facilitation, design or consultation support for a new Legislative Theatre initiative, get in touch with The People Act or connect with a practitioner in the global community. 

Email us at
info@thepeopleact.org