20th Century Theatre

The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht was born in Germany in 1898

Playwright

Director

He has had a great impact on theatre and plays during the past 50 years

He died in 1956

Brecht’s Philosophy

He believed theatre should be political

He believed that theatre should be used to force people to think

He opposed theatre as entertainment or escapism.

He sought to create the opposite

Bertolt Brecht

He wanted audiences to leave his plays having learnt something about themselves and the world

Brecht lived over a period in history which included both World Wars, Nazism, the Great Depression, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

It is not surprising that Brecht used theatre to get his political message across

Germany 1930’s

Nazi Germany

The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima

An Hiroshima Victim

Brecht despised the romantic, the sentimental and the realisticBrecht’s was a political theatreHe wanted his audience to view his plays criticallyHe did not want the audience to accept the play as a form of real lifeHe wanted the concepts presented to be considered objectively

Epic Theatre

Brecht created a distinct style called Epic Theatre

It is sometimes referred to as Theatre of Alienation

Brecht had been influenced by many other earlier theatrical practitioners and theatrical styles, even those from Asia.

Features of Epic Theatre

AlienationNarrationEpisodicNo stage illusionsChorusSignsSongGeneralised characters

Alienation

To alienate means to feel not part of something

Brecht did not want his audience to sympathise with the characters on stage

He wanted the audience to feel estranged, separate, detached

He wanted the audience to remain objective and learn from the message being portrayed

This alienation effect was not meant to literally alienate the audience, but meant to objectify the audience’s attitude

Narration

A character was often used to narrate during the play

This allowed the playwright to comment on the action in the play

This narration stopped the action of the play, reminding the audience it was not real, and adding more food for thought

Episodic

Brecht’s plays consisted of short scenes/episodes broken up by narration, song and danceThey are not plot drivenThe audience can consider each episode at its own pace rather than being caught up in wanting to find out how the story ends

No Stage Illusions

Actors moved props around

No blackouts for scene changes – lights were left on

Props were minimal

Scenes were often augmented with slide projections

Chorus

Actors spoke or sang in unison – like in Ancient Greek Theatre

The chorus broke up scenes of the play

They commented on the play directly to the audience

Signs

Big signs were used to designate:

- Obvious stage props

- Characters

- Places

- Or to comment on the action

Song

Songs were used to break up the scenes

To alienate the audience

To comment on the action in the play

Generalised Characters

As Epic Theatre discouraged audiences from identifying with or becoming too attached to characters, general roles were written.

Some characters had names but often they were only known as Mother, Worker, etc

Actors

Actors often stepped out of the action to talk directly to the audience

Meryl Streep as Mother Courage talking directly to audience

Historification

All events were set in the past

He didn’t want audiences to bring their own contemporary societal conditioning to viewing the play

This was so that audiences would be able to watch and consider critically

Stagecraft

A bare stage

Minimal set

Minimal lighting

Minimal props

Everything was to indicate that this was theatre, not real life.

It was the completely opposite approach to Naturalism.

Role of the Actor

The role of the actor is to primarily arouse the critical consciousness of the audience members

The actor should not generate any emotional empathy

Brecht’s turbulent life and the influence of world politics

Brecht was born in Bavaria

He studied medicine

He worked in Munich, Germany as an orderly during World War I

He was a socialist and anti-fascist

Hence he opposed Hitler and the Nazis

Brecht’s Private Life

He married the opera singer and actress Marianne Zoff in 1922. Their daughter, Hanne Hiob, born in 1923, is a well-known German actress. In 1930 Brecht married Helene Weigel, who had already borne him a son, Stefan. Their daughter Barbara was born soon after the wedding. She also became an actress and currently holds the copyrights to all of Brecht's work.

First Wife, Marianne Zoff

Hanne Hiob, Brecht’s 1st Daughter

2nd Wife, Helene Weigel

Brecht’s Exile from Germany

Brecht had to leave Germany in February 1933, when Hitler took power. He went to Denmark when war seemed imminent in 1939, he moved Stockholm, Sweden. He stayed there for one year. Then Hitler invaded Norway and Denmark, and Brecht felt the need to leave Sweden for Finland where he waited for his visa for the United States until May 3, 1941

Brecht was accused of being un-American in 1947 and had to go to court.

He was difficult and uncooperative using his poor English as an excuse

He claimed he had never held communist party membership

He left USA

Arrived in Europe

Went to Switzerland

Was invited by the government to move to East Germany, which was a communist country during this part of the 20th century

East Berlin became Brecht’s home

The Berliner Ensemble

He was enticed by the offer of his own theatre (completed in 1954) and theatre company (the Berliner Ensemble). Brecht died in 1956 of a heart attackBrecht left the Berliner Ensemble to his wife, the actress Helene Weigel, which she ran until her death in 1971. Perhaps the most famous German touring theatre of the post war era, it was primarily devoted to performing Brecht plays.

Brecht retained his Austrian nationality

He retained his overseas bank accounts from which he received valuable hard currency remittances.

The copyrights on his writings were held by a Swiss company.

He used to drive around East Berlin in a pre-war DKW car — a rare luxury in the austere divided capital.

Brecht was not always popular with the East German government

He was often scruffy and unshaven

He did not live up to their expectations of a great poet and playwright because he was so scruffy

Security guards once excluded him from a reception that was being held in his honour because of the way he looked

The Plays

Brecht wrote many plays.The most famous are:

Good Person of SetzuanCaucasian Chalk CircleThe Resistible Rise of Arturo UiThe Life of GalileoMother Courage and Her Children

Good Person of Setzuan

A Set Design for Good Person of Setzuan

Caucasian Chalk Circle

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

A More Naturalistic Set Design for “Arturo Ui”

The Life of Galileo

Set Design for Galileo

Mother Courage and Her Children

Brecht’s Wife, Helene Weigel, as Mother Courage

Performing Epic Theatre Today

Modern theatre directors usually use a modified version of Brecht’s Epic Theatre

They tend to use more naturalistic acting styles, but may use many of the other theatrical conventions of Epic Theatre