The research project 'Acting with Facts: Actors Performing the Real in British Theatre and Television since 1990' was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and ran from 2007-2010. The project was one of the activities of the Television Drama Research Group. It was led by Dr Derek Paget, working with Postdoctoral Researcher Dr Heather Sutherland and Professors Jonathan Bignell and Lib Taylor. Over the three years, the researchers interviewed over thirty British actors and professionals in TV and theatre about their work in factual drama. Subjects researched included Verbatim and Tribunal Theatres, Community Theatre involving documentary/factual material, film and television docudramas and historical reconstructions, and film and television 'biopics'. The work analysed the specific demands made by different media on actors' and other creatives' competencies when making or performing fact-based drama. It investigated comparisons and correspondences between docudrama and fictional drama. The factors at work included the ways that television docudrama has responded to the 1990 Broadcasting Act, increased international co-production, and the digital revolution. The results of the research showed how fact-based theatre responded to accelerated social and political change since 1990, and dealt with ethical, institutional and practical constraints such as legal restrictions, marketability and cost. The project tested the usefulness of existing academic theories (of form, genre, format and audience) in the analysis of docudrama. Publications detailing the results of the project included special issues of two journals, and articles and chapters by members of the research team. The project held two one-day and one three-day conference for academics and professionals from the creative industries.

For further information contact Jonathan Bignell