Abstract In a post-Brexit (and perhaps even post-truth) context, the entire nation is going through an intense period of self-scrutiny, attempting to find a way forward for British culture despite a growing climate of divisive and destructive trends. As ever, verbatim theatre, spearheaded by Rufus Norris’ National Theatre, has sought to provide some answers in its relentless examination of the state of Britain. However, since the renaissance of verbatim theatre in the mid-1990s, the political situation has worsened considerably and it may appear that the typical strategies of verbatim theatre have lost their efficacy, struggling to provide a much-needed alternative. In this article, I will assess some of verbatim theatre’s latest developments in the 21st century through three main case studies, which are DV8’s To Be Straight with You (2007), Catherine Grosvenor’s Cherry Blossom (2008) and Alecky Blythe’s Little Revolution (2014). My main argument is that, notwithstanding the claims to the contrary, verbatim theatre is far from being in decline and it has continued to fluctuate, transform and exceed its familiar parameters, urging us to rethink its general aesthetic coordinates beyond the project of documentary realism and that of a national ‘shadow archive.’ More specifically and drawing from a variety of recent examples including the aforementioned case studies, I will argue that verbatim theatre in this period has a post-postmodern proclivity to make new connections across the fragments and re-construct the social.

中文翻译：

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Verbatim Theatre 还在谈论国家话题吗？

摘要 在英国脱欧后（甚至可能是后真相）的背景下，尽管分裂和破坏性趋势日益加剧，整个国家都在经历激烈的自我审视，试图为英国文化找到前进的道路。与以往一样，由鲁弗斯·诺里斯 (Rufus Norris) 的国家剧院牵头的逐字逐字剧院试图通过对不列颠现状的不懈调查来提供一些答案。然而，自 1990 年代中期逐字戏剧复兴以来，政治局势已显着恶化，逐字戏剧的典型策略似乎已失去效力，难以提供急需的替代方案。在本文中，我将通过三个主要案例研究评估逐字逐字剧院在 21 世纪的一些最新发展，它们是 DV8 的《与你直道》（2007），Catherine Grosvenor 的 Cherry Blossom (2008) 和 Alecky Blythe 的 Little Revolution (2014)。我的主要论点是，尽管有相反的说法，逐字逐字戏剧远未衰落，它继续波动、转变和超越其熟悉的参数，敦促我们重新思考其超越纪录片现实主义和现实主义项目的一般审美坐标。一个国家的“影子档案”。更具体地说，从包括上述案例研究在内的各种最近的例子中，我认为这一时期的逐字逐字戏剧具有后后现代倾向，可以在碎片之间建立新的联系并重新构建社会。逐字逐字剧院远未衰落，它继续波动、转变和超越其熟悉的参数，促使我们重新思考其总体审美坐标，超越纪录片现实主义和国家“影子档案”的项目。更具体地说，从包括上述案例研究在内的各种最近的例子中，我认为这一时期的逐字逐字戏剧具有后后现代倾向，可以在碎片之间建立新的联系并重新构建社会。逐字逐字剧院远未衰落，它继续波动、转变和超越其熟悉的参数，促使我们重新思考其总体审美坐标，超越纪录片现实主义和国家“影子档案”的项目。更具体地说，从包括上述案例研究在内的各种最近的例子中，我认为这一时期的逐字逐字戏剧具有后后现代倾向，可以在碎片之间建立新的联系并重新构建社会。