Verbatim theatre

Verbatim theatre is a phrase used to describe a type of play that has become increasingly popular in recent years. Verbatim plays are, as the name suggests, written using only the precise words spoken by people interviewed about a particular event or topic.

The playwright interviews people that are connected to the topic that the play is focused on and uses their testimony to construct the piece. In this way they seek to achieve a degree of authority akin to that represented by the news. Such plays may be focused on politics, disasters or even sporting events.

Recent, high profile pieces of verbatim theatre include Talking to Terrorists by Robin Soans, My Name is Rachel Corrie by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner and The Permanent Way and Stuff Happens by David Hare.

The most famours Australian piece of Verbatim Theatre is 'Aftershocks', written by Paul Brown and the Workers' Cultural Action Committee, tells the story of the 1989 Boxing Day earthquake in Newcastle, NSW.