“Documentary theatre … goes beyond pure documentation: it’s about questioning the meaning and significance of truth and information,” writes Mona Mehri in “Staging ‘the Document’ at the Avignon Festival.” Documentary theatre uses existing nonfiction sources—interviews, oral histories, articles, governmental reports, etc.—to create works of performance. In this section, you’ll find content about pieces created this way and thoughts from artists working in this form.
The Latest
Podcast
Documentary Theatre as Witness in Ukraine
by Ash Marinaccio, Veronika Skliarova
14 January 2026
Podcast
Artist-Led Citizen Journalism at the Frontlines
by Ash Marinaccio, Zoe Lafferty
9 January 2026
Podcast
Process and New Play Development with the Civilians' R&D Group
The Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater presented the MOTUS discussion of Alexis. A Greek Tragedy, livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Saturday, 7 January 2012 at 8:30 p.m. EST / 5:30 p.m. PST / (02:30 CET / 01:30 GMT).
Ash Marinaccio and Ukrainian theatremaker Veronika Skliarova discuss how documentary theatre is preserving testimony, fostering resilience, and building community amid war.
Ash talks with Zoe Lafferty, founder of Artists on the Frontline, about artist-led citizen journalism in Palestine’s Jenin refugee camp and the role of political documentary theatre projects in the current political climate.
