The Impact of Possibilities and Methods of Representing Reality on Social Identity in Documentary Theatre by Examining the Works of Peter Weiss

This research aims to study the relationship between the ways of representing social reality in documentary drama and its influences by examining the dramatic works of documentary theater. For this purpose, considering the opinions of the experts, extracting and categorizing the key concepts and characteristics of the documentary drama was the first step for subsequent analysis. The key question is, first, how do these methods and characteristics of documentary drama, specifically the works by Peter Weiss, represent the social reality? Second, how can the documentary drama show a neutral opinion about the truth?  To answer this question, the documentary works of an important author in this field, Peter Weiss, will be examined as a case example, as he was one of the first writers and theorists in documentary drama, focusing on the abilities, possibilities, and capacities of the drama play in the text. This analysis uses Alain Badiou's contemporary philosophical approach to ontology. We anticipate that the results will illuminate and analyze how documentary theater methods represent truth. This research aims to establish an ontological perspective based on set theory in mathematics, in line with Alain Badiou's views and concepts, applied within the realm of documentary theater. This study examines the capabilities and facilities in this field of drama, for getting close to the truth through producing local truth. This paper focuses on “identity” as a key concept related to fidelity to the truth. This research employs a descriptive, analytical, and interpretative approach. The case examples are chosen for their significance in the realm of documentary drama, focusing on their plot subjects and the methods and techniques they use to depict social reality within this genre. The examination of Alain Badiou's theories on truth in theater establishes criteria for assessing documentary theater, emphasizing its fundamental aim of achieving truth. This research demonstrates that the concept of "identity" in Peter Weiss's works allows the question of "identity" to remain central to his exploration of truth. Using his skill and elaboration in the use of dramatic methods and techniques, he has been able to provide the possibility to produce truth by creating a complex contrast between the subject and the event and putting a part of it on the audience. This research investigates how "identity" can be represented as a truth in documentary drama.The documentary works of the important author in this field, Peter Weiss, will be examined as a case example. The analyzes will be based on the theoretical approach of Alain Badiou, a contemporary philosophy theoretician, in the field of ontology, and it is expected that based on the results of this research, the impact of the methods used in documentary theater in the representation of truth can be explained and analyzed.The results show, thorough analyzing Alain Badiou's ideas about the process of truth production in theater, we can come up with criteria for evaluating documentary theater, considering the main goal of the documentary theatre, to achieve the truth. This research showed that by considering the concept of "identity" in the works of Peter Weiss, the question of the concept of "identity" in the place of truth can always be brought back to the center of his works. Using his skill and elaboration in use of dramatic methods and techniques, he has been able to provide the possibility to produce truth by creating a complex contrast between the subject and the event and putting a part of it on the audience. This research in conclusion shows how the conception of “Identity” can be searched as the Truth, in documentary drama.