The plot thickens: Understanding interaction through the metaphor of drama

Drama theory provides a framework for the investigation of situations involving conflict or co-operation. This paper describes the general concepts of the approach and illustrates these through an extended example based on the topical and pervasive issue of intra-organisational collaboration. It shows how such situations can be regarded as moving through a number of identifiable stages and how the paradoxes facing those participating are resolved as each episode unfolds. The approach has potential across a wide range of applications, and the analytical content can now be supported by specialist software tools.