To Witness Mimesis: The Politics, Ethics, and Aesthetics of Testimonial Theatre in Through the Wire

This paper examines an Australian “verbatim play” about asylum seekers, Through the Wire, in order to consider the relationship between realism and witnessing in the theatre. It argues that verbatim or testimonial theatre is better understood as a form of realism than as a form of documentary theatre, as is usually the case. Current scholarship in both theatre and trauma studies criticizes realist approaches principally on ethical grounds, without necessarily accounting for a play’s political effects. Through an analysis of Through the Wire’s production and reception, I suggest that, while testimonial theatre may be ethically problematic, it can also be politically efficacious, precisely because of its realist aesthetics.