Your reports Find reports Why is verbatim theatre so often lacking theatricality? Why is verbatim theatre so often lacking theatricality? Convener(s): Stella Duffy Participants: Shanti Freed, Rebecca Maltby, Rebecca Manson-Jones, Mark, Sara Bynoe, Jonathan Petherbrdige, Heather Taylor, Alisan Mead, Nick Phillips, Mandy Fenton, Gary, Julie, Lisa Hammond Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations: I’m really not sure how to write this up, as what I personally mostly heard was a list of shows people loved/were moved by/were touched by that were in some way perceived to be verbatim. This felt very unusual for a D&D discussion. It was less about feeling/views and much more about WITNESSING the witnessing of verbatim. Some questions/statements : Why is it ok for a real character (in a verbatim piece) to be an ignorant fucker and not ok in a scripted piece? Is the verbatim writer a writer or an editor or a composer or a choreographer or an auteur? ‘Based on a true story’ gives legitimacy. People are afraid of ‘political theatre’ – verbatim gives freedom to make political work? Verbatim happens now, often with more immediacy. Called to witness. Honouring the material (sometimes over-honouring it, over-honouring the person who gives/tells.) Sometimes we’re more moved by fiction. It’s not enough just to be true, there is a need for THEATRE as well.