Overview
Bertolt Brecht's reputation as a flawed, irrelevant or difficult thinker
for the theatre can often go before him to such an extent that we run
the risk of forgetting the achievements that made him and his company,
the Berliner Ensemble, famous around the world. David Barnett examines
both Brecht the theorist and Brecht the practitioner to reveal the
complementary relationship between the two.This book aims to sensitize
the reader to the approaches Brecht took to the world and the stage with
a view to revealing just how carefully he thought about and realized
his vision of a politicized, interventionist theatre. What emerges is a
nuanced understanding of his concepts, his work with actors and his
approaches to directing. The reader is encouraged to engage with
Brecht's method that sought to 'make theatre politically' in order to
locate the innovations he introduced into his stagecraft. There are many
examples given of how Brecht's ideas can be staged, and the final
chapter takes two very different plays and asks how a Brechtian approach
can enliven and illuminate their production.
Ultimately, the book invites readers, students and theatre-makers to
discover new ways of apprehending and making use of Brecht.