Title: The Documentary Turn in Contemporary British Drama

Abstract: Documentary writing has emerged as a significant cultural phenomenon in contemporary British drama. Over the past three decades since the mid-1990s, documentary plays have been widely staged in theatres of varying scales across Britain, while documentary techniques have been increasingly adopted and adapted within the British theatrical landscape. These developments suggest that contemporary British drama has undergone a discernible documentary turn. This article first investigates why such a turn has taken place by situating it within its political, social, and cultural contexts. It then examines how the documentary turn has been realized, focusing on two key dimensions: thematic concerns and aesthetic strategies. By addressing both content and form, the article offers a comprehensive analysis of this important cultural and theatrical transformation.

Keywords: contemporary British drama, documentary turn, thematic features, aesthetic representation

Authors: Yongjian Zhao, Associate Professor, School of Foreign Languages, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Mei Yu, School of Foreign Languages, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

DOI: 10.19967/j.cnki.flc.2025.04.007