Tactical Questioning, Tricycle Theatre

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Tactical Questioning, Tricycle Theatre

New verbatim drama based on the Baha Mousa case is horrific but predictable

by Aleks SierzMonday, 06 June 2011

Cross examinations: Thomas Wheatley as Elias in ‘Tactical Questioning’Tristram Kenton

Verbatim theatre has been the flavour of political theatre for the past two decades, and no theatre has done more to promote this style of public witnessing than the Tricycle in Kilburn, north London. Its artistic director, Nicolas Kent, has created a special style of verbatim drama called tribunal theatre, where the results of long-running public inquiries or trials are edited into an evening’s viewing. His latest venture, Tactical Questioning: Scenes from the Baha Mousa Inquiry, which opened last night, illustrates the pros and cons of this type of infotainment.

Although this play is based on reality, it is pre-empting the actual report of the inquiry, and this is a high-risk strategy

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