1. 20 th Century Theatre The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht

2. 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

3. 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

4. Bertolt Brecht

6. 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

7. Germany 1930’s

8. Nazi Germany

9. The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima

10. An Hiroshima Victim

11. Brecht despised the romantic, the sentimental and the realistic Brecht’s was a political theatre He wanted his audience to view his plays critically He did not want the audience to accept the play as a form of real life He wanted the concepts presented to be considered objectively

12. 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.

13. Features of Epic Theatre Alienation Narration Episodic No stage illusions Chorus Signs Song Generalised characters

14. 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

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

16. 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

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

18. 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

20. 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

22. Signs Big signs were used to designate: -Obvious stage props -Characters -Places -Or to comment on the action

23. Song Songs were used to break up the scenes To alienate the audience To comment on the action in the play

24. 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

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

27. Meryl Streep as Mother Courage talking directly to audience

28. 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

29. 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.

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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.

33. First Wife, Marianne Zoff

34. Hanne Hiob, Brecht’s 1 st Daughter

35. 2 nd Wife, Helene Weigel

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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 20 th century East Berlin became Brecht’s home

39. 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 attack Brecht 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.

41. 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.

42. 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

43. The Plays Brecht wrote many plays. The most famous are: Good Person of Setzuan Caucasian Chalk Circle The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui The Life of Galileo Mother Courage and Her Children

44. Good Person of Setzuan

45. A Set Design for Good Person of Setzuan

46. Caucasian Chalk Circle

47. The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

48. A More Naturalistic Set Design for “Arturo Ui”

49. The Life of Galileo

50. Set Design for Galileo

51. Mother Courage and Her Children

52. Brecht’s Wife, Helene Weigel, as Mother Courage

54. 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