1. Bertlot Brecht
1898 - 1956
Summary of the life and works
of
Bertlot Brecht

2. Eugen Bertholt Friedrich Brecht
Biography
• Brecht was born into a world of conflict
and contradictions, on 4th august 1898 in
Augsburg, Bavaria.
• By his 16th birthday World War 1 had
broken out and he had witnessed a
number of deaths of those he was
associated with at school. Financial,
political and personal instability were a
way of life and would remain so for Brecht
till his death 48 years later.
• Brecht worked in an army hospital after
studying medicine at Munich University
from 1917 – 1921. This extreme work
exposed him to the sight wounded
soldiers and all his life he was said to
never get over the smell of death. – this
could explain some of Brecht’s
forthcoming extreme theatre methods…

3. Biography
• The 1920s were an eventful decade for
Brecht; he divorced his first wife, married
his second and had written 3 plays , “Baal”
, “Drums in the night” and “In the jungle of
cities” he also published a volume of short
stories, directed a play a “A man’s man”
and had his first collaboration with the
composer Kurt Weill in “Mahagonny”. This
was followed by the immensely popular
“The Three Penny opera”.
• He also started to develop his more unique
views which evolved to become Epic
Theatre. This came about as he started to
reject idealism in favour for individualism.
• He was forced to flee Germany in 1933
due to his leftist political beliefs (he had
quickly become favoured towards the
ideas on Karl Marx and his socioeconomic
theories). He also opposed Hitler and the
Nazi regime. This lead to him spending 14
years in exile travelling into Scandinavia,
where he wrote his major plays before
reaching the safety of America.

4. Biography
• His theory evolved through practise into
Epic Theatre where he believed theatre
should not only reflect our world but change
it. He drew on all available resources for his
plays including staging collaborations with
other directors, new music with composers
and used the help of designers, these
together made a totally new form of theatre.
• By the end of his life he was an important
figure with theatre, he had astounded
Europe with his productions due to the
unique and extreme staging and acting,
which conversed to the audience in
apparent simplicity.
• Over 40 years since his death and it is
striking that all his theories (especially his
thoughts on Epic theatre) are still relevant
in theatre today.
Through out this presentation we will be exploring the theories and themes that will
help you to understand the excitement and strengths of Brecht and his productions.

5. Bibliography of Works
• BAAL:
Baal was written to visually and verbally
and express Brecht’s dislike of Hanns
Johst’s play “Der Einsame” as the play had
the qualities of naturalistic writing that
Brecht didn’t approve of.
• This first play consisted of short scenes
which could be moved around without any
apparent continuity, he borrowed this
structure from the practitioner ‘Buchner’.
This would later on be involved in the
construction of Epic Theatre.
• Baal is a text that could be taken as a
partial self portrait. Its anti-hero (a
protagonist who displays less pleasant
characteristics of a human being) is a poet
and singer; similar to a young Brecht, A quote from Brecht’s book: The complete
showing traits of a nonconformist. plays of Buchner
“Aristotelian (Dramatic) theatre {one scene
leading to another: growth} and his own epic
“Epic Theatre” {each scene on its own:
montage}”

6. Bibliography of Works
• “Drums in the Night”
• This was Brecht’s 2nd play which brought in
a new and popular theme of the time; a
return of a soldier from war
• By using a post-war soldier as his main
protagonist, Brecht showed a man’s
thoughts within a revolutionary and war-
stricken environment. Produced in 1922 it
coincided with the unsettled post-war
atmosphere in Germany. Banners were
placed in the auditorium asking the audience
“not to stare romantically”.
Brecht here was asking the audience not to relate to the
character directly or pity them, instead they should be
seen solely as an object
Here we are starting to see Brecht de-romanticise the
act of watching theatre by asking his audience to
distance themselves from a character, This is where we
begin to see the idea of “Epic Theatre” (portrayed in his
later works)

7. Bibliography of Works
• “In the Jungle of Cities”
• In this his 3rd play Brecht enlisted the
help of a designer friend ‘Casper
Neher’. The play was set in a
superficial Chicago and was
presented like a boxing match.
• Brecht found collaborative inspiration
from Upton Sinclair’s novel “The
Jungle”.
• For Brecht Chicago was all he loved
and hated about the “American
Dream”. This was not the last
occasion were Brecht set his
productions in an imaginary city.
• He again used the theme for an
American Dream setting in his works: He moved on to make Soho in London the setting of his
St Joan of the Stockyards, sensational play “The Threepenny Opera”.
Happy End, However it was not a city that audiences in the
The Resistable Rise of Arturo “American Dream World” could recognise.
This is one of his last productions before we saw the full
extent of his theory “Epic Theatre”

8. Epic Theatre
• Brecht’s theory's, which he went on to call
“Epic Theatre” were directed against the
illusion created by traditional theatre in which
the audience witnessed a slice of life.
• Instead he encouraged spectators to watch
events on stage dispassionately and to reach
their own conclusions.
• To prevent spectators from becoming
emotionally involved Brecht used a variety of
techniques, among them was the
Verfremdungseffekt (Alienation or
estrangement effect). This was achieved
through such devices as; unfamiliar settings,
interrupting the action with songs and
Alienation (V effect)
announcing the contents of each scene
through posters. Brecht used various techniques to make sure that
thought took priority over emotions in his
audience. He had to make sure they knew they
were there to engage and react to the play, rather
than to merely enjoy, emotionally, what was in
front of them.

9. Lighting, Sounds & Design
within epic Theatre
• Lighting
The lights were to be in full view of the
audience as were there operators to
ensure actors were seen in the same world
as the audience. Light would indicate the
passage of time or change of scenes
rather than create mood or atmosphere.
•Sound
Rather than accompanying the action on
stage, music was meant to comment on or
conflict with the action on stage.
• Stage Design
Brecht only used scenery and props that This theory we feel reflects the future
works of Peter Brook (a fellow
were directly necessary for telling the story.
practitioner) as shown in his production
His stages would therefore be almost bare and
of “The Grand Inquisitor”. Were he uses
empty. He made it so that any set changes
minimal setting using only 1 chair & 1
would be made in full view of the audience. As book, however it is how he uses and
for the props themselves they were often positions these props which help us
highly symbolic and would be representations understand the deeper meaning of the
rather than real object. play and character.

10. Comparisons Between
Dramatic & Epic Theatre
•Epic Theatre (Brecht’s Theory)
• Dramatic Theatre (the norm)
• Plot: Has a beginning , middle and end, •Narrative: Begins anywhere, continues
and issues raised in the play are
and stops. Issues are not resolved
resolved
•Turns the spectator into an
• Implicates the spectator in a
stage situation: suggests to the observer: but suggests that the spectator
spectator that what their watching is like can question what he or she is seeing
real life
•Forces the audience to take
• Provides the audience with
decisions: makes it clear that there are
sensations: a theatre of illusion with
problems to be solved
ideas reinforced
• The spectator is involved in •The spectator is made to face
something
something
• The spectator is in the thick of it,
•The spectator stands outside,
shares the experience
studies
• Growth: events follow each other in a
smooth progression
•Montage: events are shown in self
contained scenes

11. Summary- Epic theatre
• Epic theatre stands for a theatre of high
complex theoretical and practical ideas,
which took Brecht most of his life to
formulate. We have demonstrated that the
early plays had traces of the ‘Epic’, but it
did however take a good ten years for all
aspects to come together. It wasn’t until
his last great plays in the 1940s and
1950s that epic theatre was finally firmly
established.

12. Influences
• Georg Buchner 1813-37: Involved
•Frank wedekind 1864-1918: He was
himself in radical politics, which nearly
renowned as a cabaret artist, thus he
lead to his arrest.
acted as a close role model for Brecht. As
• One of his overriding themes in his Brecht attracted his own share of scandal
plays was mans search for his destiny in the cabaret sellers of Munich and
in a hostile world. (Brecht) Berlin.
• He is famous mainly for his influence on
•Their plays have a similar structure:
the expressionists in which the
short scenes seemingly unconnected,
protagonist would move through a
which by their relentless forward
sequence of dramatic sequences each
movement build to an often shattering
having some psychological or symbolic
physical climax.
importance in itself.
•Like Brecht Wedekind had a contempt
for bourgeois society and his plays
Karl Marx 1818-83 (who is buried in tended to focus on the double standards
Highgate cemetery round the corner of sexual morality in Germany, especially
form Jamie’s house): he provided the as they effected the young.
philosophy for the Russian revolution in
1917. •It just so happens that Brecht’s
convictions with the law seem to coincide
•Many of his reforming ideas were
with aspects of Marxist thoughts.
incorporated into the new state.

13. To summarise:
Caroline thinks: Even with Brecht’s
Jamie thinks:
extreme techniques with the uses of
Brecht has come up with
lighting and sound, it is quite difficult for
a unique and inspirational idea, but he
the spectators to be dispassionate while
thinks it might be too imaginative in watching and for the actor to not
performance.
integrate with the character they are
portraying.
Roxy thinks: That with great
Vicky thinks: That Brecht's
understanding and knowledge of epic
theory's and practises were relevant
theatre, a Brecht production could be
to the time of his works, e.g.
extremely hard hitting. However with out
emotion brought up by the war. But
knowing all of Brecht’s theory's and
there's no innovative relevance in
reasoning's behind his work, his plays
modern day times. As world
could be imaginatively challenging for a
conflicts don’t effect modern day
modern day audience.
society in the same way.
“Brecht is the key figure of our time, and all theatre work today at some point
starts or returns to his statements and achievements.”
- Brook, P, The empty stage, penguin, 1986.

14. Bibliography
• “Wikipedia” internet site
• “Collected Plays” 1994 Brecht, Bertolt.
• “Theatre studies” 2000 Simon Cooper
• “The empty stage” 1986 penguin