Bertolt Brecht
This section provides background information about Bertolt Brecht and how he used “epic theatre” to convey his political concerns.
Background
Brecht was born in Germany in 1898, the same year in which Stanislavski produced The Seagull. Brecht was conscripted into the army in 1918 (at the age of 20) to fight in the First World War. During this time, he wrote his first play. After the war, he became involved in both writing and directing plays.
Brecht used theatre to politicise people. As a Marxist, he wanted to expose the inequalities of capitalism. He wanted to make audiences see what was wrong with society so that they might do something about it.
Epic theatre
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Brecht used the term “epic theatre” to describe his form of drama. His plays are usually based on a historical event involving many characters over a long period of time. The plays may include several story lines and be constructed as a series of independent scenes. Brecht wanted audiences to think about what they saw rather than identifying emotionally with the events onstage.
Brecht used several techniques to distance the audience and elicit the necessary detachment for making judgments about the actions of the characters. Brecht called these techniques “Verfremdungseffekte” or “strange-making effects” (usually translated as alienation effects).
For example, plays were performed with the house lights on so that audience members remained aware of each other during the performance. Music and dancing were used to break up the action of the play, or scenes were sung rather than spoken. Placards were used to give information to the audience. All of the characters might be dressed in black rather than individually costumed.
The actor’s job in epic theatre
Brecht believed that the actor’s job was merely to show what happened. He did not want actors to identify with the character or to play the role realistically, which was the opposite of Stanislavski’s purpose. Brecht believed that the actor should:
- move as if blocking movements on stage for the first time or in a robotic, dreamlike way (see the section on blocking below)
- treat voice and movement so that they do not match
- speak as if quoting someone else rather than speaking dialogue
- speak the stage directions aloud
- remain physically and emotionally detached from the other actors
- play scenes with mismatched emotions, for example, humour in a sad scene
- perform directly to the audience
- exchange roles with other actors
- perform the role as if critically appraising the actions from afar.