Playwright David Megarrity captures the lives of young people in Brisbane using Verbatim Theatre
Verbatim theatre is a modern form of documentary theatre in which the playwright uses the real words of interviewees to construct a play. Like its theatrical forebears, such as the 'Living Newspapers' produced by the Federal Theatre Project in the US in the 1930s, it is often associated with coverage of current events and controversial political issues. Black Watch, by Gregory Burke, portrayed British soldiers in Iraq in their own words, while David Hare's The Permanent Way documented the privatization of the UK railways.
But what about using verbatim theatre as a form to capture the lives of young people in their own words? David Megarrity is doing just that with students at the Queensland University of Technology, developing a play around the theme of ‘love, adrenaline and transitions’.
He has created a blog that tracks its development and opens up issues around the verbatim form. To find out more about the show, its development and the intricacies of verbatim theatre, go to: