Bertolt Brecht - Education Scotland

12
THE TOP TEN
Ewen shows Piscator’s radical theatrical innovations in fantastic detail, and
demonstrates how these were vital introductions to Brecht of new, political
and entertaining techniques. This chapter illustrates how objectivity meshed
with political cabaret; how agit-prop raged with delight all over Germany;
what cinema and Russian theatre offered; just how widespread and important
the concept of collaboration was to these artists.
Here too, Ewen clearly and entertainingly describes Brecht’s first steps at
coming to terms with his marriage of theatre’s possibilities to his new and
growing politicisation. He goes on to discuss Brecht’s revelation that ‘William’
(Shakespeare) was also, to Brecht’s way of thinking, an ‘epic’ theatre
practitioner.
Other chapters are equally readable, packed with insights and pertinent to
students of Drama and Theatre. Chapter XI, ‘The Recovery of Identity: The
Epic Theatre’, contains lucid explanations and exemplifications of the acting
technique associated with the Grundgestus and Gestus; the concept of
Verfremdung; the actor audience relationship Brecht sought, etc., etc. The
following chapter deals with the Lehrstücke. One can dip into any chapter and
find essential information. The whole book is likewise valuable. This is a firstrate
biography precisely because it makes a big issue out of both Brecht’s
theory and his practice.
McDonald, Jan, and Schumacher, Claude (eds.), The Citizens’ Theatre
Season, Glasgow 1990, Glasgow: Theatre Studies Publications, The
University, 1991
It is important to try to maintain a Scottish angle on the course and this book
provides, at least, a token towards this end.
As its title suggests, it is a review of the work of one of Scotland’s most famous
producing theatres over the course of the year when Glasgow had ownership
of the title European City of Culture.
It is, naturally, a very good resource in its own right as a survey of the work of
one contemporary Scottish theatre company. Work by Pirandello, Ibanez,
Dumas, Shaw, Goldoni, Rowe and, of course, Brecht is dealt with in a
generally formulaic way.
The formula gives the reader a synopsis, the play’s background, details of its
performance, an interview with either a director, writer or actress (in the case
of Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, the interview is with Glenda
Jackson who played the lead role), and a series of newspaper reviews of the
production. It is worth noting from Jackson’s interviews that, although
politically aligned with Brecht, she is influenced as an actress by both Brecht
and Stanislavski in her creation of the role of Mother Courage.
DRAMA