1. BRECHT AND THE EPIC THEATRE

3. Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) I t i s e a s i e r t o r o b b y s e t t i n g u p a b a n k t h a n b y h o l d i n g u p a b a n k c l e r k

4. There’s more than one Bertolt Brecht

5. up Pompeii

6. Brecht’s theatre is constantly changing You cannot separate the theory from the plays You cannot separate the politics from the plays The Good Person of Szechwan Brechtian Theory is not ‘Set in Stone’

7. Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht Born on 10th Feb 1898 in Augsburg, Germany Born on 10th Feb 1898 in Augsburg, Germany Brecht was a sickly child, with a congenital heart condition and a facial tic, He suffered a heart attack at the age of twelve, but soon recovered and continued his education Brecht was a sickly child, with a congenital heart condition and a facial tic, He suffered a heart attack at the age of twelve, but soon recovered and continued his education While in school, he began writing and ended up co-founding and co-editing a school magazine called ‘The Harvest’ and wrote his first play ‘The Bible’ While in school, he began writing and ended up co-founding and co-editing a school magazine called ‘The Harvest’ and wrote his first play ‘The Bible’ Studied medicine in Munich (1917-1921) and served in a army hospital in 1918 during World War I Studied medicine in Munich (1917-1921) and served in a army hospital in 1918 during World War I After the war, he moved to Berlin where he was attracted to modern theatre After the war, he moved to Berlin where he was attracted to modern theatre Appointed as a consultant in 1924 in Deutches Theater in Berlin Appointed as a consultant in 1924 in Deutches Theater in Berlin Works with Erwin Piscator (originator of the phrase ‘Epic Theatre’) Works with Erwin Piscator (originator of the phrase ‘Epic Theatre’)

8. BRECHT In 1922, his play ‘Drums in the night’ opened and received the prestigious Kleist prize for young dramatist as a result In 1922, his play ‘Drums in the night’ opened and received the prestigious Kleist prize for young dramatist as a result In 1923 his two plays ‘Jungle of Cities’ and ‘Baal’ cause controversy in Berlin theatre world In 1923 his two plays ‘Jungle of Cities’ and ‘Baal’ cause controversy in Berlin theatre world First professional production – ‘Edward II’ in 1924 First professional production – ‘Edward II’ in 1924 1928 - ‘The Threepenny Opera’ becomes a sensation and begins a long collaboration with composer Kurt Weill 1928 - ‘The Threepenny Opera’ becomes a sensation and begins a long collaboration with composer Kurt Weill

9. BAAL 1918

10. BRECHT Violent antibourgeois attitude Violent antibourgeois attitude Among his friends were members of the Dadaist group Among his friends were members of the Dadaist group Discovered Marxism in the late 1920s with Karl Korsch, an eminent Marxist theoretician Discovered Marxism in the late 1920s with Karl Korsch, an eminent Marxist theoretician He developed his theory of ‘epic theater’ and an austere form of irregular verse and embraced Marxism He developed his theory of ‘epic theater’ and an austere form of irregular verse and embraced Marxism

11. The Beggar’s Opera (1728)

12. The Threepenny Opera (1928)

13. BRECHT In 1933 to 1941 he went on exile in Scandinavia (mainly in Denmark) In 1933 to 1941 he went on exile in Scandinavia (mainly in Denmark) From 1941 until 1947 he lived in the USA where he did some film work for Hollywood From 1941 until 1947 he lived in the USA where he did some film work for Hollywood In this period, his books were burned and his citizenship was withdrawn In this period, his books were burned and his citizenship was withdrawn He was cut off from German theatre He was cut off from German theatre In this period away from Germany, Brecht wrote most of his greatest plays, major theoretical essays and dialogues In this period away from Germany, Brecht wrote most of his greatest plays, major theoretical essays and dialogues

14. Influences - Murder Ballads Typically recounts the details of a mythic or true crime — who the victim is, why the murderer decides to kill him or her, how the victim is lured to the murder site and the act itself — followed by the escape and/or capture of the murderer Typically recounts the details of a mythic or true crime — who the victim is, why the murderer decides to kill him or her, how the victim is lured to the murder site and the act itself — followed by the escape and/or capture of the murderer

15. EINFÜHLUNG Translates as “Understanding/Empathy” Translates as “Understanding/Empathy” Originates in Aristotle’s ‘Poetics’ Originates in Aristotle’s ‘Poetics’ The audience feel what the character feels The audience feel what the character feels Therefore - the audience must be passive Therefore - the audience must be passive Brecht terms this type of drama an ‘emotional orgy’ Brecht terms this type of drama an ‘emotional orgy’

16. PIRATE JENNY You people can watch while I'm scrubbing these floors And I'm scrubbin' the floors while you're gawking Maybe once ya tip me and it makes ya feel swell In this crummy Southern town In this crummy old hotel But you'll never guess to who you're talkin'. No. You couldn't ever guess to who you're talkin'. Then one night there's a scream in the night And you'll wonder who could that have been And you see me kinda grinnin' while I'm scrubbin' And you say, "What's she got to grin?" I'll tell you. There's a ship The Black Freighter With a skull on it's masthead Will be coming in You gentlemen can say, "Hey gal, finish them floors! Get upstairs! What's wrong with you! Earn your keep here! You toss me your tips And look out to the ships But I'm counting your heads As I'm making the beds Cuz there's nobody gonna sleep here, tonight Nobody's gonna sleep here Nobody!Nobody! Then one night there's a scream in the night And you say, "Who's that kicking up a row?" And ya see me kinda starin' out the winda And you say, "What's she got to stare at now?" I'll tell ya. There's a ship The Black Freighter Turns around in the harbor Shootin' guns from her bow

17. PIRATE JENNY Now You gentlemen can wipe off that smile off your face Cause every building in town is a flat one This whole frickin' place will be down to the ground Only this cheap hotel standing up safe and sound And you yell, "Why do they spare that one?" Yes. That's what you say. "Why do they spare that one?" All the night through, through the noise and to-do You wonder who is that person that lives up there? And you see me stepping out in the morning Looking nice with a ribbon in my hair And the ship The Black Freighter Runs a flag up it's masthead And a cheer rings the air By noontime the dock Is a-swarmin' with men Comin' out from the ghostly freighter They move in the shadows Where no one can see And they're chainin' up people And they're bringin' em to me Askin' me, "Kill them NOW, or LATER?" Askin' ME! "Kill them now, or later?" Noon by the clock And so still at the dock You can hear a foghorn miles away And in that quiet of death I'll say, "Right now. Right now!" Then they pile up the bodies And I'll say, "That'll learn ya!" And the ship The Black Freighter Disappears out to sea AndOnItIsMe

18. PIRATE JENNY

19. Brecht and the un-American committee (1947)

20. THE BALLAD OF MAC THE KNIFE And the shark, oh, it has teeth And it wears them in its face. And Macheath, he has a knife, But this knife, no one sees. And the shark, oh, it has teeth And it wears them in its face. And Macheath, he has a knife, But this knife, no one sees. Oh, how red is the shark’s fin, when the blood flows. Mack the Knife, he wears a glove, From which no atrocity can be read. In the Thames’ green waters, People suddenly fall. Is it either plague or cholera? No, it means Macheath’s been around. On a beautiful blue Sunday, A dead man lies on the beach And a man goes around the corner Known as Mackie the Knife. And Schul Meier is still missing And so many rich men, Mackie the Knife has his money, But no one can prove anything. Jenny Towler was found With a knife in her breast, And on the dock goes Macheath, Who knows nothing at all. Where is Alfons Gilte, the cabman? Will this ever come to light? Anyone could know. Macheath knows nothing. And the great fire in Soho, Seven children and an old man. In the crowd, Mackie the Knife — He’s not asked and doesn’t know. And the underaged widow Whose name everyone knows, Woke up and was raped. Mackie, what was your price? For some are in darkness And some are in light. One sees those in light, But those in darkness, one sees not.

21. The Ballad Of Mack The Knife

22. BRECHT 1949 - tempted back to East Germany by the Communist party with promise of own theatre 1949 - tempted back to East Germany by the Communist party with promise of own theatre 1950 - forms Berliner Ensemble 1950 - forms Berliner Ensemble 1954 - Berliner Ensemble theatre opened 1954 - Berliner Ensemble theatre opened Dedicates himself to directing and nurturing new directors Dedicates himself to directing and nurturing new directors Dies 1956 - In his will he provided instructions that a stiletto be placed in his heart and that he be buried in a steel coffin so that his corpse could not be eaten by worms Dies 1956 - In his will he provided instructions that a stiletto be placed in his heart and that he be buried in a steel coffin so that his corpse could not be eaten by worms

23. BRECHT ON THEATRE...Looking around one discovers more or less motionless bodies in a curious state - they seem to be contracting their muscles in a strong physical effort, or else to have relaxed them after a violent strain... they have their eyes open, but they don’t look, they stare... they stare at the stage as if spellbound, which is an expression from the Middle Ages, an age of witches and obscurantists. How long are our souls going to have to leave our ‘gross’ bodies under cover of darkness to penetrate into those dream figures up on the rostrum, in order to share their transports that would otherwise be denied to us.

24. The work of an actor? On the stage the actor is surrounded entirely by fictions... the actor must be able to regard all this as though it were true, as though he were convinced that all that surrounds him on the stage is a living reality and, along with himself, he must convince the audience as well. This is the central feature of our method of work on the part... Take any object, a cap for example; lay it on a table or the floor and try and regard it as though it were a rat; make believe that it is a rat and not a cap... Picture what sort of rat it is; what size, colour? We thus commit ourselves to believe quite naively that the object before us is something other than it is and, at the same time, learn to compel the audience to believe. RAPAPORT: THE WORK OF THE ACTOR (1936) This might be thought to be a course of instruction for conjurers, but in fact it is a course of acting, supposedly according to Stanislavsky’s method. One wonders if a technique that equips an actor to make an audience see rats where there aren’t any can really be all thats suitable for discerning the truth. Given enough alcohol it doesn’t take acting to persuade almost anybody that they are seeing rats: pink ones. BRECHT ON THEATRE

25. THE MODERN THEATRE IS THE EPIC THEATRE (1930) Dramatic Theatre Dramatic Theatre Plot Plot implicates the spectator in a situation implicates the spectator in a situation wears down the capacity for action wears down the capacity for action provides spectator with sensations provides spectator with sensations experience experience the spectator is involved in something the spectator is involved in something Epic Theatre Epic Theatre Narrative Narrative turns the spectator into an observer turns the spectator into an observer arouses the capacity for action arouses the capacity for action provokes the spectator to make decisions provokes the spectator to make decisions picture of the world picture of the world spectator is made to face something spectator is made to face something

26. THE MODERN THEATRE IS THE EPIC THEATRE (1930) Dramatic Theatre Dramatic Theatre Suggestion Suggestion instinctive feelings are preserved instinctive feelings are preserved the spectator is in the thick of things the spectator is in the thick of things the human being is taken for granted the human being is taken for granted humans do not change humans do not change eyes on the finish eyes on the finish Epic Theatre Epic Theatre Argument Argument brought to the point of recognition brought to the point of recognition the spectator stands outside and studies the spectator stands outside and studies the human being is the object of inquiry the human being is the object of inquiry humans can and do change humans can and do change eyes on the process eyes on the process

27. THE MODERN THEATRE IS THE EPIC THEATRE (1930) Dramatic Theatre Dramatic Theatre one scene gives way to another one scene gives way to another Growth Growth linear development linear development evolutionary determinism evolutionary determinism human being as a fixed point human being as a fixed point thought determines being thought determines being feeling feeling Epic Theatre Epic Theatre each scene for itself each scene for itself montage montage curves curves jumps jumps human being as a process human being as a process social being determines thought social being determines thought reason reason

28. VERFREMDUNGSEFFEKT This is a big German word with a very big meaning. This is a big German word with a very big meaning. It is made up of three parts: It is made up of three parts: A noun, A noun, An adjective, and An adjective, and A prefix. A prefix.

29. VERFREMDUNGSEFFEKT Is a translation (of sorts) of Victor Schklovsky’s term ‘Ostrannenie’ which literally means “to make strange” Is a translation (of sorts) of Victor Schklovsky’s term ‘Ostrannenie’ which literally means “to make strange” The noun: The noun: “Effekt” is exactly the same as the English word “effect”, something which produces a result. “Effekt” is exactly the same as the English word “effect”, something which produces a result.

30. VERFREMDUNGSEFFEKT The adjective: The adjective: “Fremd” is the German for “strange”, “alien”, “foreign”. “Fremd” is the German for “strange”, “alien”, “foreign”. The prefix: The prefix: “Ver-” is the German prefix which denotes great strength or very much. “Ver-” is the German prefix which denotes great strength or very much.

31. VERFREMDUNGSEFFEKT Thus the whole word means: Thus the whole word means: “Something which makes things we take for granted look very strange, as if from another land or time.” “Something which makes things we take for granted look very strange, as if from another land or time.”

32. VERFREMDUNGSEFFEKT Brecht used this idea at every level of making and performing a play: from constructing the action to choice of costumes and props; from the way actors use their voices to where a performance takes place. Brecht used this idea at every level of making and performing a play: from constructing the action to choice of costumes and props; from the way actors use their voices to where a performance takes place.

33. VERFREMDUNGSEFFEKT The V-Effekt consists of turning the object of which one is to be made aware, to which one’s attention is to be drawn, from something ordinary, familiar, immediately accessible, into something peculiar, striking and unexpected... A common use of the V-Effekt is when someone says ‘have you ever really looked carefully at your watch?’ The questioner knows that I’ve looked at it often enough, and now his question deprives me of the sight which I’ve grown used to and which accordingly has nothing more to say to me. I used to look at it to see the time, and now when he asks me in this importunate way I realise that I have given up seeing the watch itself with an astonished eye... Brecht: Short Description of a new Acting Technique

34. Key Features of the V-Effekt Use of Slides/Inter titles Use of Slides/Inter titles Acting style is deliberately unrealistic Acting style is deliberately unrealistic Set is minimal Set is minimal Actors ‘drop out of character’ to sing Actors ‘drop out of character’ to sing Mechanics of stage lighting clearly visible Mechanics of stage lighting clearly visible Music used as separate element Music used as separate element

35. The Street Scene Text The event has taken place; what you are seeing now is a repeat. If the scene in the theatre follows the street scene in this respect then the theatre will stop pretending not to be theatre, just as the street-corner demonstration admits it is a demonstration (and does not pretend to be the actual event). The element of rehearsal in the acting and of learning by heart in the text, the whole machinery and the whole process of preparation: it all becomes plainly apparent. What room is left for experience? Is the reality portrayed still experienced in any sense? The event has taken place; what you are seeing now is a repeat. If the scene in the theatre follows the street scene in this respect then the theatre will stop pretending not to be theatre, just as the street-corner demonstration admits it is a demonstration (and does not pretend to be the actual event). The element of rehearsal in the acting and of learning by heart in the text, the whole machinery and the whole process of preparation: it all becomes plainly apparent. What room is left for experience? Is the reality portrayed still experienced in any sense?

36. The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (1930) Execution of Jimmy Gallaher. Many of you, perhaps will be shocked at what you are about to see. But ladies and gentlemen, ask yourselves this question: “Would I have paid Jimmy Gallaher’s Debts?” Would you? Are you sure?

37. Mother Courage and her Children (1938, 1939, 1941) Spring 1624. The Swedish Commander-in-Chief, Count Oxenstierna, is raising troops in Dalecarlia for the Polish campaign. The Canteen woman, Anna Fierling, known under the name of Mother Courage, loses one son

38. NOT “WHAT?” “HOW? ” “WHY? ”

39. The Good Person of Szechwan (1939,1942,1943) Ladies and gentlemen, don’t feel let down: We know this ending makes some people frown. We had in mind a sort of golden myth Then found the ending had been tampered with. Indeed it is a curious way of coping: To close the play, leaving the issue open. Especially since we live by your enjoyment. Frustrated audiences mean unemployment. But what would you suggest? What is your answer? Nothing’s been arranged. Should men be better? Should the world be changed? Or just the gods? Or ought there to be none?...What sort of measures would you recommend To help good people to a happy end? Ladies and gentlemen, in you we trust: There must be happy endings, must, must, must!

40. PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM OF THE COSMOS

41. COPERNICAN SYSTEM OF THE COSMOS

42. The Life of Galileo (1937,1943,1945,1947) You see! what do you see? You see nothing. You only goggle. Goggling is not seeing.

43. The Life of Galileo

44. The Life of Galileo (1937,1943,1945,1947) It is concerned with knowledge, achieved through doubt. Making knowledge about everything available for everyone, science strives to make sceptics of them all. Now the greater part of the population is kept permanently by their princes, landlords and priests in a nacreous haze of superstition and outmoded words which obscure the machinations of these characters... Our new device of doubt delighted the great public, which snatched the telescope from our hands and turned it on its tormentors... I, as a scientist, had a unique opportunity. In my days astronomy reached the market-places. In these quite exceptional circumstances, the steadfastness of one man could have shaken the world.

45. BRECHT ON THEATRE...and make my curtain half high, don’t seal off the stage! Leaning back in his chair, let the spectator Be aware of the busy preparations made for him. Cunningly: he sees a tinfoil moon Float down, or a tiled roof Being carried in: do not show him too much, But show him something! And let him notice That you are not wizards, Friends, but workers... Die Vorhaenge

46. Theatre For Pleasure or Theatre for instruction (1935) The dramatic theatre’s spectator says: Yes, I have felt like that too - Just like me - It’s only natural - It’ll never change - The sufferings of this man appall me, because they are inescapable - That’s great art; it all seems the most obvious thing in the world - I weep when they weep, I laugh when they laugh. The epic theatre’s spectator says: I’d never have thought it - That’s not the way - That’s extraordinary, hardly believable - It’s got to stop -The suffering of this man appalls me, because they are unnecessary - That’s great art: nothing obvious in it - I laugh when they weep, I weep when they laugh.

47. No Emotional Involvement? Brecht wished for a ‘Scientific audience’ Brecht wished for a ‘Scientific audience’ He DID wish the audience to become involved in the drama He DID wish the audience to become involved in the drama The audience must not be passive (detached) The audience must not be passive (detached) Caucasian Chalk Circle even has a “Cliffhanger”! Caucasian Chalk Circle even has a “Cliffhanger”! They must be INTELLECTUALLY involved They must be INTELLECTUALLY involved

48. The Structure of Epic Theatre Montage-like construction. Each scene stands independently from each other Montage-like construction. Each scene stands independently from each other Intended to divide rather than unite the spectators - audience treated as individuals rather than mass Intended to divide rather than unite the spectators - audience treated as individuals rather than mass Often uses obvious narrator figure to emphasise that the story is ‘long ago and far away’ Often uses obvious narrator figure to emphasise that the story is ‘long ago and far away’

49. The Structure of Epic Theatre Linear character development is abandoned - we rarely get to see a character’s “Inner Life” Linear character development is abandoned - we rarely get to see a character’s “Inner Life” Audience are often encouraged to feel the opposite of the character’s emotions - “I laugh when they weep, I weep when they laugh” Audience are often encouraged to feel the opposite of the character’s emotions - “I laugh when they weep, I weep when they laugh” “Epic” is the way he told his stories, but the components of this style changed from play to play. “Epic” is the way he told his stories, but the components of this style changed from play to play. Epic is constantly under development Epic is constantly under development

50. Pirate Jenny (Lotte Lenya)

51. Tango-Ballad