Brecht in Practice
Theatre, Theory and Performance
1st Edition
Published on 20. November 2014
256 pages
978-1-4081-8438-7 (ISBN)
Description
David Barnett invites readers, students and theatre-makers to discover new ways of apprehending and making use of Brecht in this clear and accessible study of Brecht's theories and practices. The book analyses how Brecht's ideas can come alive in rehearsal and performance, and reveals just how carefully Brecht realized his vision of a politicized, interventionist theatre.
What emerges is a nuanced understanding of Brecht's concepts, his work with actors and his approaches to directing. The reader is encouraged to engage with his method which sought to 'make theatre politically', in order to appreciate the innovations he introduced into his stagecraft. Barnett provides many examples of how Brecht's ideas can be staged, and the final chapter takes a closer look at two very different plays: one written by Brecht and one by a playwright with no acknowledged connection to Brecht. Through an interrogation of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and Patrick Marber's Closer, Barnett asks how a Brechtian approach can enliven and illuminate production.
What emerges is a nuanced understanding of Brecht's concepts, his work with actors and his approaches to directing. The reader is encouraged to engage with his method which sought to 'make theatre politically', in order to appreciate the innovations he introduced into his stagecraft. Barnett provides many examples of how Brecht's ideas can be staged, and the final chapter takes a closer look at two very different plays: one written by Brecht and one by a playwright with no acknowledged connection to Brecht. Through an interrogation of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and Patrick Marber's Closer, Barnett asks how a Brechtian approach can enliven and illuminate production.
More details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
10 illus
ISBN-13
978-1-4081-8438-7 (9781408184387)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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11/2014
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Persons
David Barnett is Reader in Drama, Theatre and Performance at the University of Sussex, UK. He has published books on German theatre (studies on Heiner Müller and Rainer Werner Fassbinder), and is preparing a history of the Berliner Ensemble, the first book of its kind in any language. He has also published several essays and articles on German-, English-language, political and postdramatic theatre.
Content
Acknowledgements
One: Revealing the Radical Theorist
Two: The Messingkauf as Performative Thinking
Three: Brecht and Difference
Four: Method Trumps Means
Five: Brecht and the Actor
Six: Brecht and the Director
Seven: Brecht, Documentation and the Art of Copying
Eight: Brecht's Method in Action: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and Closer by Patrick Marber
Epilogue
Endnotes
Index
One: Revealing the Radical Theorist
Two: The Messingkauf as Performative Thinking
Three: Brecht and Difference
Four: Method Trumps Means
Five: Brecht and the Actor
Six: Brecht and the Director
Seven: Brecht, Documentation and the Art of Copying
Eight: Brecht's Method in Action: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and Closer by Patrick Marber
Epilogue
Endnotes
Index
