Bertolt Brecht

"Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it." Bertolt Brecht.
Bertolt Brecht is one of the most influential theatre practitioners of the last century. Brecht believed that the theatre's purpose was to educate. Brecht wanted to evoke critical attitudes in his audiences; he introduced theatrical devices that were designed to challenge the audiences unthinking emotional involvement with productions. Brecht was strongly influenced by the political and cultural ideals associated with Marxism. The social and artistic goals inspiring Brecht’s theatrical styles were also addressed and articulated in Brecht's early propagandistic plays ‘The Threepenny Opera’ and ‘Mother Courage and her Children’.

Brecht's Marxist political convictions led him to propose an alternative direction for the theatre combining the meaning of instruction and entertainment. In this way the theatre could project a picture of the world by artistic means and offer models of life that could help the audiences understand their social environment both rationally and emotionally. Brecht's emphasis on the political and didactic significance of theatre inspired him to try and alert audiences for the need of social change. This introduced ‘Epic Theatre’ generally described as Brecht's theory and techniques of dramatic action that was episodic. Epic Theatre presents a sequence of incidents or events that are narrated on a grand scale without the restrictions of time, place or formal plot. It consisted of non-representational staging, alienation and the incorporation of theatricalism. All elements contributed to Brecht's overall purpose that was to comment on the political, social and economic elements that affected the lives of his characters. The aim was to develop a consciousness within the audience that would then create a catalyst act. ‘The Threepenny Opera’ captivates many elements of epic theatre. First staged in 1928, it is based on John Gay’s eightieth century ‘Beggars Opera.’ ‘The Threepenny Opera’ is a dry, humorous and biting satire of decayed capitalism. From Marxism, Brecht took a revolutionary stance-not only towards the class struggle but also towards the representation of bourgeois realism on stage. Brecht argued that Realistic theatre presented and reinforced a particular political vision, a view of society as the inevitable product of evolution and history. ‘The Threepenny Opera’ clearly outlined Brecht’s revolutionary intentions, this is evident in the ‘First Threepenny Finale: The Uncertainty of Human Circumstances.’-“We all would practice charity and love: To give the poor our money, must be right. When Man is good, God's kingdom's not far off; 
Who wouldn't like to bask in Heaven's light? We all would practice charity and love.” For Brecht, the realism of the time, which was based on bourgeois ideals and characters, was a biased representation of social reality. Brecht reinterpreted Marx's concept of alienations a theatrical ideology, in order to displace realism and to show up the hidden agenda of the theatre of the time.
The Verfremdungseffekt, alienation effect, is the primary innovation of Brecht's epic theater. Brecht uses alienation to describe the method of helping the audience to be receptive to his dramatic intentions. Brecht called for the audience’s alienation to oppose the mystifying tendency of the conventional stage, tendencies that reduced its audience to passive, trance-like states. Some alienation techniques include making the mechanics of scene changes visible, inserting songs in the middle of scenes to interrupt the action and finding ways for actors to physically ‘show' their characters' relationships to their circumstances. Composed by Brecht in 1939. ‘Mother Courage’s’ message was; War is hell. Ostensibly about the Thirty Years’ War, between the Protestants and the Catholics during the 17th Century, the play was written as a response to World War I and the rise of Nazi Germany. Historicization was achieved by using events from the past to create parallels to contemporary issues. ‘Mother Courage’ encouraged the audience to expand their outlook and experience of the play about the bigger issues of war and its effects on culture, community & individuals universally. The success of each scene in Mother Courage hinges upon alienation devices. For example, Courage's "Song of the Great Capitulation," when played without alienation, risks seducing the spectator with the pleasures of surrender rather than exposing the depravity in the submission to an unjust authority.

The term gesture or grandgestes as used by Brecht, referred to everything an actor did in terms of gesture, stance, body language, facial expressions and intonations in order to show the significance of a scene. Enforcing epic theatre and creating an attitude towards performance, which contrast with naturalism. In ‘The Threepenny Opera’, actors regularly relinquished their roles and address the audience directly breaking the fourth wall and shocking the audience out of their comfortable lull and confronting them with direct dialogue. “….” Scene nine. Audiences are therefore encouraged to engage to the presentation.
When our group experimented with the play ‘Mother Courage,’ we incorporated gestures into the scenes through the manipulation of Mother Courage’s appearance we revealed a significant example of Brechts use of gestures. Represented by the character of Mother Courage showing her “inner emotional turmoil” not only through her dialogue but also through her physical appearance and actions. We included gestures of miming, this was effective as it subverted reality and emphasizing the fact our audience was indeed in the theatre.
In keeping with the egalitarian ideals associated with Marxism, Brecht's productions were often very collaborative. Collaborating with the composers Kurt Weill and Paul Dessau to include music as a vital ingredient of his productions. The purpose of song was to show lighter sides to deeply serious situations it ultimately alienates the audience and makes them question the social realities that were being presented. Music was evident in both ‘Threepenny’ and ‘Mother Courage’
Brecht's incisive lyrics and Kurt Weill's atonal 'melodies' continue to be used today by musicians such as Elvis Costello and Sting. Brecht's theories and practices have had a major impact on contemporary theatre. His view of theatre as an educational tool for social change, his collaborative approaches, and his theories of epic theatre are only some of his many contributions to the development of theatre. Brecht’s intentions and styles and techniques continue today throughout theatre and the move industry. The settings and costumes of his productions are the features that have most influenced the contemporary theatre. Contemporary design exhibits in many ways the influences of his staging and dramatic techniques.
Brecht believed that theaters purpose was to educate, I believed that this was achieved in many ways. He has been inspirational through the last century and still continues today influencing theaters around the world and the continuation of his dramatic styles and techniques will never faid.
"In the dark times. Will there also be singing? Yes, there will also be singing. About the dark times." Bertolt Brecht