Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht is heralded as the creator of theatre that was driven by a political message, which was controversial at the time because it was not widely accepted to criticize the government. In many ways, Brecht made people aware of their own power to spread change through speech. Born in 1898, Brecht experienced both world wars, at first from the perspective of a medical orderly, and then after his fleeing of Germany and hearing about his country's plight from the polished throne of America. This meant that Brecht both experienced war in its horrifying grit, and then from an alienated position where the idea of patriotism would seem truly ridiculous. Therefore, Brecht was shaped by his past as a director who challenged both the actions of the government, and the tolerance of its people. 

In terms of form, one of Brecht's inspirations was the English comedian Charlie Chaplin, who used slapstick and body language to create humour in his silent films. This explains firstly why political theatre is usually surreal and 'jokey', but also where ideas of Gestus came from. Chaplin conveyed character and sensibility solely through physicality, and thus Brecht's heavy use of the physical to indicate social standing, age, and gender can be pinned to his love of Chaplin's comedy through the body. 

Taken from google images

A Brechtian play will also have a skewed timeline, with 'episodes' instead of scenes in chronological order. This way the viewer can piece the story together in whichever way they want, meaning that the conclusion they draw from the play could be different to the person sitting next to them. As a feat in his career Brecht created the Berliner Ensemble, a company committed to performing only his plays, which meant that his political messages could be broadcast without having to seek permission from the government in terms of being allocated space and 'air time'. Instead, the Berliner Ensemble could create, show and tour their work whenever they pleased. 

I am very thrilled to be studying the techniques of such an influential practitioner, and further research can be found in my diagram below: