Bertolt Brecht

Birth:10th February 1898. Death:14th August 1956

Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, theatre director and a Marxist follower. As a theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made contributions to Dramaturgy (the art of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage) and theatrical production, the latter through the tours undertaken by the post-war theatre company, the Berliner Ensemble, operated by Brecht and his wife, Helene Weigel, a long time collaborator and actress. 
As a lifelong committed Marxist follower, Brecht was successful in combining and developing the theory and practise of his "Epic Theatre", a theatrical movement arising from the theories and practise of a number of theatre practitioners. "Epic Theatre" proposed that a play should not cause the spectator to identify emotionally with the characters or action before him/her, but should instead provoke rational self-reflection and a critical view of the action on the stage.

Brecht and the "V Effect"

As an artisan, one of Brecht's most important principles was the "Verfremdungseffekt (distancing) effect". As Brecht preferred to put it, "stripping the event of its self-evident, familiar obvious qualities and instead, creating a sense of astonishment and curiosity about them". The idea of "making things strange and unusual for an audience". Hereafter, Brecht would employ techniques such as the actor's directly addressing audience members (Immersive Theatre), harsh and bright stage lighting, the use of song to interrupt the action, explanatory placards and in rehearsals, the transposition of text to the third person or past tense and speaking stage directions out loud.

In a broader sense, Brecht as a practitioner was able to revolutionise the way audiences viewed theatre, breaking down elements of the 4th wall allowing for more performer/audience interaction and understanding. He was also successful in adding a more technical/raw understanding of the way a play was performed, deducing the emotional aspect of performance and thrusting the audience into a world of aesthetics and technicality. Brecht intended his performers to express their character's social attitudes through clear and stylised physicality and vocalisation.


An Introduction to Brechtian Theatre
The clip investigates how the theoretical work of Bertolt Brecht is transformed into practise on stage. His various techniques of involving the audience in the world of the play through not only dialogue, music and dance, but through infrastructure successfully construes his motive for allowing the audience to become socially active with both the plot and the message of a piece.
Brecht engages the audience visually and is able to portray a message not only through practicality but through technicality in terms of lighting, interior and exterior.
Immersing an audience in perfomance has been on of Brecht's greatest aims quoting, "We should try out each and every consevable artistic device which can help towards this aim whether its old or new". Furthermore, this examines how Brecht is able to utilise the material that shapes our everyday lives whether it be political or social and incorporate it in drama to create something groundbreaking that challenges the norms in society.