All the world's a stage (using drama theory to resolve confrontations)

Drama Theory is a general theory of human interacton which uses the metaphor of drama to illuminate how situations develop through the deliberate choices made by participants. This article sets out the key concepts of the theory and presents the core technique of confrontation analysis. Through examples it shows the dilemmas posed by rational choice behaviour, and discusses their resolution. A number of short case examples are provided to encourage the management scientist to adopt drama theory as an analytical approach.