Bertolt Brecht

203 Pages·2009·15.258 MB·xiv, 188 p. : ill\203

by  Meg Mumford

BERTOLT BRECHT
Routledge Performance Practitioners is a series of introductory
guides to the key theatre-makers of the last century. Each volume
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explainsthebackgroundtoandtheworkofoneofthemajorin uences
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on twentieth- and twenty- rst-century performance.
Bertolt Brechtwas amongst the most important contributors to the
theoryandpracticeoftheatre.Hismethodsofcollectiveexperimentation
and his unique framing of the theatrical event as a forum for aesthetic
fi
and political change continue to have a signi cant impact on the work
of performance practitioners, critics and teachers alike. This is the
fi
rst book to combine:
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an overview of the key periods in Brechts life and work
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a clear explanation of his key theories, including the renowned
ideas of Gestus and Verfremdung
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an account of his groundbreaking 1954 production of The
Caucasian Chalk Circle
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an in-depth analysis of Brechts practical exercises and rehearsal
methods.
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As a rst step towards critical understanding, and as an initial
exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge
’
PerformancePractitionersareunbeatablevaluefortodaysstudent.
Meg Mumford is a lecturer in Theatre and Performance Studies at
TheUniversityofNewSouthWales,Australia.Shehaspublishedwidely
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on the subject of Brechts theatre and contemporary appropriations of
his theory and practice.
ROUTLEDGE PERFORMANCE
PRACTITIONERS
Series editor: Franc Chamberlain, University College Cork
Routledge Performance Practitioners is an innovative series of intro-
fi
ductory handbooks on key gures in twentieth-century performance
practice. Each volume focuses on a theatre-maker whose practical and
theoretical work has in some way transformed the way we understand
theatre and performance. The books are carefully structured to enable
the reader to gain a good grasp of the fundamental elements under-
’
pinning each practitioners work. They will provide an inspiring
springboard for future study, unpacking and explaining what can
initially seem daunting.
The main sections of each book cover:
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personal biography
(cid:1)
explanation of key writings
(cid:1) fi
description of signi cant productions
(cid:1)
reproduction of practical exercises.
Volumes currently available in the series are:
Eugenio Barba by Jane Turner
Pina Bausch by Royd Climenhaga
Augusto Boal by Frances Babbage

Michael Chekhov by Franc Chamberlain
Jacques Copeau by Mark Evans
Etienne Decroux by Thomas Leabhart
Jerzy Grotowski by James Slowiak and Jairo Cuesta
Anna Halprin by Libby Worth and Helen Poyner
Rudolf Laban by Karen K. Bradley
Robert Lepage by Aleksandar Dundjerovic
Ariane Mnouchkine by Judith G. Miller
Jacques Lecoq by Simon Murray
Joan Littlewood by Nadine Holdsworth
Vsevolod Meyerhold by Jonathan Pitches
Konstantin Stanislavsky by Bella Merlin
HijikataTatsumiandOhnoKazuobySondraHortonFraleighandTamah
Nakamura
Mary Wigman by Mary Ann Santos Newhall
Robert Wilson by Maria Shevtsova
Future volumes will include:
Marina Abramovic
Antonin Artaud
Peter Brook
Tadeusz Kantor
Richard Schechner

BERTOLT BRECHT
Meg Mumford
Firstpublished2009
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
byRoutledge
270MadisonAve,NewYork,NY10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
©2009MegMumford
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CPIAntonyRowe,Chippenham,Wiltshire
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor
utilizedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now
knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orin
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ISBN 0-203-00099-4 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN13:978-0-415-37508-5(hbk)
ISBN13:978-0-415-37509-2(pbk)
ISBN13:978-0-203-88210-8(ebk)
ISBN10:0-415-37508-8(hbk)
ISBN10:0-415-37509-6(pbk)
ISBN10:0-203-88210-5(ebk)
To Paul, Imogen and Tom.

CONTENTS
List of figures xi
List of abbreviations xii
Acknowledgements xiii
1 ALIFEOFFLUX 1
Which Brecht? 1
Onthemake:fromBavariatoBerlin(1898–1924) 2
Changingtheworld: Weimarpolitics (1924–33) 15
Ontherun:exile inEuropeandAmerica (1933–47) 28
Building acolle ctive: BrechtintheGDR(1947–56) 37
Brechttoday? 47
2 BRECHT’SKEYTHEORIES 48
Brechtindialogue 48
Brecht’skeyconcerns 52
GettingthegistofGestus 53
VerfremdungandV-effects 60
Historicization: questioning thepresent throughthe past 72
Themodern theatreis theepictheatre 76
Dialecticsinthetheatre 85
Brecht’ssocialistrealism: imitation meets experimentation 87
Conclusion 89