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Understanding Epic Theatre and Brecht

The document discusses the epic theatre movement of the early 20th century. It summarizes that epic theatre aimed to make audiences aware of contemporary issues and challenge illusions, rather than entertain. Bertolt Brecht was a major founder and practitioner of epic theatre. He sought to shock audiences into critical thinking about social problems through techniques like alienation effects that reminded viewers they were watching a play. Brecht used epic theatre to expose issues in both communist and capitalist societies through bizarre and grotesque dramatizations showing no class was purely moral.

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283 views1 page

Understanding Epic Theatre and Brecht

The document discusses the epic theatre movement of the early 20th century. It summarizes that epic theatre aimed to make audiences aware of contemporary issues and challenge illusions, rather than entertain. Bertolt Brecht was a major founder and practitioner of epic theatre. He sought to shock audiences into critical thinking about social problems through techniques like alienation effects that reminded viewers they were watching a play. Brecht used epic theatre to expose issues in both communist and capitalist societies through bizarre and grotesque dramatizations showing no class was purely moral.

Uploaded by

trisstoqurwa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Let me start with just a few words about myself. My name is..

I’m the student of german philology


Today I’d like to talk to you about epic theatre
I’ve divided my presentation into three parts…
It’s going to last about 5 minutes.
I’d be glad to answer any question at the end of my talk.
The idea of the epic theatre
Epic theatre is a theatrical movement in the early 20th century. It arised from the theories
and practice of a number of theatre practitioners who responded to the political climate of
the time through creation of new political dramas.
The main purpose of Epic Theatre is to make the audience aware about the ongoing
circumstances of the time. This movement doesn’t aim to keep the audience under any
illusion but to show them the real world and force them to make judgements.
The founder
There was a couple of people that were very important to this movement. Hovewer the
major and the most renowned practitioner of the epic theatre was Bertolt Brecht – a german
theatre practitioner, playwright, dramatist and poet. He lived in the intense time in history.
He came of age in the Weimar Republic. During the Nazi Germany period, Bertolt Brecht left
his home country and moved firstly to Scandinavia and than to USA. But after the war he
voluntarily returned to East Germany, which was communist. It is because he was a
communist himself and was very strongly against Nazis, but nevertheless he criticized
communism in East Germany. In Germany he lived in Berlin, where he worked on the epic
theatre.
Characteristics of epic theatre
Bertolt Brecht did not like bourgeois and Aristotelian theater, mainly because they are
oriented towards audience tastes and entertainment. What Brecht wanted to achieve, was
to shock and wake up the audience. Brecht claimed that art is a hammer used to shape
society. Art and plays should therefore lead to the improvement of society. The audience
shouldn't identify with the characters, but look at them critically. Plays are designed to
present specific social problems that audience can consider, solve, and actually learn from.
Verfremdungseffekt (An alienation effect) is important here - a technique that was
implemented, used in epic theater. It means that we shouldn't forget during the play that
we're in the theater. That's why the play should be as bizarre as possible, grotesque as
possible. Brecht showed also in his plays that the lower classes are not moral, but so are the
aristocratic classes as well.
That brings me to the end of my presentation.
Thank you for your attention.
Have you got any questions?

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