Bertolt Brecht - Education Scotland

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CRITICAL STUDIES
Gray, F, John Arden, London: Macmillan, 1982
As with the other books in the series (Macmillan Modern Dramatists), this is an
easy-to-read guide to the works of a neglected modern playwright (though not
as neglected as his wife and collaborator, Margaretta D’Arcy) and one heavily
influenced by Brecht and reflective of Brecht’s practice and theories.
Gray, Ronald, Brecht the Dramatist, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1976
Lucid and politically informed analyses of playtexts.
Hayman, R (ed.), The German Theatre: a symposium, London: Wolff, 1975
Hayman is not always a fan of Willett’s (he calls his translations ‘approximate
and inaccurate secondhand accounts’, p201!) and his own chapter in this
collection (‘Brecht in the English Theatre’) carries his usual prejudices.
However, he does paint a vivid picture of the theatrical experience of a
Berliner Ensemble production in England. He also deals with the influence of
Brecht on British political theatre (Joan Littlewood, John Arden, Edward
Bond, etc.). Worth a trip to the library or an inter-library loan (the Mitchell
Library, Glasgow, has a copy) to read but not to buy.
Hayman, R, Bertolt Brecht: The Plays, London: Heinemann, 1984
Hayman has translated the works himself which leads to some confusion,
especially with titles, but this is a slim book, with short analyses of a great
many of the plays. They contain some good sense but are shot through with a
distrust of Brecht’s politics.
Hirst, D L, Edward Bond, London: Macmillan, 1985
Yet another in the Modern Dramatists series. Bond is one of the leading
British political dramatists of the second half of the twentieth century and
would be the first to admit an enormous debt to Brecht.
Hodgson, T, Modern Drama from Ibsen to Fugard, London: Batsford, 1992
‘Brecht’s Later Epic Theatre and its Impact’, pp161–171, contains a
surprisingly good section on the staging of The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
Hunt, A, Arden: A Study of his Plays, London: Eyre Methuen, 1974
The mantle of Brecht was certainly worn by John Arden and Margaretta D’Arcy
in the 1960s, using subject matter pertinent to Britain’s political system and
theatrical techniques to question their audiences. The section on The Hero
Rises Up (pp128–143) is very good.
Innes, C, Erwin Piscator’s political theatre: the development of modern
German drama, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972
An excellent, detailed description of the ‘Red Revue’ (pp43–47), the form of
political cabaret that utilised propaganda, newsreel, popular theatre
DRAMA