Verbatim Theatre: Anguish and Theatrical Truths

Abstract

In recent years, in the Romanian theater space, more and more productions have appeared that are based on verbatim plays and that successfully fit into this category. The verbatim technique works directly with the stories of ordinary people, people who are given a voice through art. More often than not, these voices tell haunting and unusual stories – stories full of anguish, social or political injustices, or painful and unknown truths. The responsibility of the verbatim creator is immense, in addition to presenting the story of his subject word for word, he must be careful not to alter the truths and authentic elements that underlie it. This theatrical technique assumes a huge responsibility on the part of the theater artist, and more than that, it has a specific and extremely rigorous methodology. For this reason, it is important to understand how this technique works, and especially, how a theater artist should relate to it.