Brecht's Theories On Theatre

Post Inspired by Theatre 460B and The Good Person of Szechwan

Bertolt Brecht was a visionary in theatre, envisioning an approach to theatre through which we see the actual world of actors on a stage, instead of being swept away by the plot-line. Throughout the 1920's to the 1950's before dying in 1956, Brecht used theatre as a running social commentary on life, political beliefs and social reform. This went against all the current views of the time. Audiences then and still now, used theatre to escape from the harsh realities of life.

"The purpose of the play was to awaken the spectators' minds so that he could communicate his version of the truth." - spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk

Brecht accomplished this by not allowing his actors to become the character at any point in the play, instead they are asked to show the characters actions and responses without becoming that character themselves. They must never identify with their character and are in essence giving their own commentary on these characters through their actions. The ideas are similar to those of Greek theatre in which a story was told through the use of a play, the characters themselves were not represented on the stage, only presented.

Actors break the fourth wall, make scenery shifts in full light view and narrate large portions of the story in order to dissuade audiences from becoming too attached to the actors themselves but rather the characters.

Information cited from:

http://www.cs.brandeis.edu/~jamesf/goodwoman/brecht_epic_theater.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAbrecht.htm