This thesis investigates the form of theatre, which is known as theatre of the real. The discussion will take its point of departure in the two questions, what is the artistic ambition behind mixing facts and fiction in a theatre context? and what defines the experience of the spectators when the line between fact and fiction is blurred and difficult to distinguish. In order to illustrate its points, the thesis will include an analysis of two plays, namely Maria & Mohamed by Maria Rich (Teater Grob, 2017) and True Story by Nanna Cecilie Bang (Teater Sort/Hvid, 2017). In terms of its methodological approach, the thesis will compare the ambition of the artists behind the plays with the individual experiences of the audience who attended the plays. By doing so, the thesis outlines the strengths and weaknesses of theatre of the real. The thesis uses a qualitative approach, and semi- structured interviews are the concrete methodogical tool. The theoretical contribution to the thesis is lead by Jacques Ranciere and Morten Kyndrup. They give two philosophical views on how the confusion of the spectators, which defines the theatre of the real, actually can lead the spectators to find themselves enlightened by the play through experiences of insight. Through a part empirically and part theoretically based analysis, the thesis discusses similarities, differences and deviations between the artistic ambition and the spectator’s experiences. This leads to three notable conclusions that are illustrated through this comparison: 1) That theatre of the real is shown particularly suitable to emancipate the spectators in the sense that they participate in an identity investigation with the actors. Several examples from Maria & Mohamed and True Story support this notion in that they point out that spectators during the plays reflect on who they are and their perspective on the world around them. 2) That theatre of the real would fail in relation to its ambition, if it were targeted towards another kind of audience than the audience who is actually seeing the plays. In the investigation, it is shown that the members of the audience who participate in this thesis through interviews are primarily young, academic and very interested in theatre. This advanced theatre audience vi distinguishes itself by reflecting on plays on a meta level, instead of reflecting on them on a more superficial level. The audience and the artists end up in an “academic trap” where those to whom the performance is actually addressed are not present, neither on the stage nor off it. 3) That it is in fact quite difficult to say anything specific about the potential of theatre of the real in terms of whether it actually delivers concrete political messages to the audience. Theatre of the real lives on the confusion of the spectators, and there are indication that its potential lies within the confusion that it creates because the confusion creates a feeling of intimacy and presence in between the actors and the audience. However, there are other signs that show that spectators do not always “get” the political messages, which the artist has an ambition to deliver through her show.