Download Blood Brothers and Brecht

Blood Brothers and Brecht
Today’s lesson Objectives:
To understand the intention of
Brechtian Theatre
To make links between Brecht’s
epic Theatre and “Blood Bothers”
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In order to complete today’s work, you will need to know the
meaning of these words. Please record them and their
definition into your books.
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Rational
Reflection
Critical
Climatic
Catharsis
Complacent
Didactic
Perspective
• There is a prize
for the first table
on which
everyone has
completed this.
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A Little About Brecht:
• German poet, playwright, and
theatrical reformer, one of the most
prominent figures in the 20thcentury theatre. In his works,
Brecht was concerned with
encouraging audiences to think
rather than becoming too involved
in the story and to identify with the
characters. Brecht developed a form
of drama called epic theatre in
which ideas or didactic lessons are
important.
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Your first task is to attempt to decipher the red text and explain
to me exactly what Brecht was trying to do with his Theatre
Brecht’s theatre:
• Brecht wanted the answer to Lenin’s question ‘Wie und was soll
man lernen?’ ('How and what should we learn?').
• He created an influential theory of theatre named the epic
theatre.
• The idea of Epic Theatre is that a play should not cause the
spectator to emotionally identify with the action before him or
her.
• Instead, it should provoke rational self-reflection and a critical
view of the actions on the stage.
• He believed that the experience of a climactic catharsis of
emotion left an audience complacent.
• Instead, he wanted his audiences to use this critical perspective
to identify social ills at work in the world and be moved to go
forth from the theatre and effect change.
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Your answers:
• Brecht’s Epic Theatre:
• The audience was discouraged from becoming emotionally
involved with the characters through various techniques.
• The productions aimed to make audience members look at
themselves (provoke rational self-reflection) and the world
around them so that they could make a decision about what
they had seen and the production would raise awareness of the
issues that it covered (and a critical view of the actions on the
stage).
• If the audience was satisfied with the ending and had been
involved, Brecht believed that they would not question what
they had seen on stage. A happy ending left the audience
unthinking.
• Instead, he wanted his audiences to use this critical perspective
to identify social ills at work in the world and be moved to go
forth from the theatre and effect change.
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His Alienation Technique,
“Verfremdungs-effekt”
• The use of anti-illusive techniques to remind the spectators that they are in
a theatre watching an enactment of reality instead of reality itself.
• Such techniques included flooding the stage with harsh white light,
regardless of where the action was taking place, and leaving the stage
lamps in full view of the audience;
• Making use of minimal props and "indicative" scenery;
• Intentionally interrupting the action at key junctures with songs in order to
drive home an important point or message;
• Projecting explanatory captions onto a screen or employing placards.
• From his actors Brecht demanded not realism and identification with the role
but an objective style of playing, to become in a sense detached observers.
• The use of a narrator was designed to stop the audience from becoming
involved in the action.
Your next task is to decide which of these techniques are
used in Blood Brothers. You do not have to delve into
examples, but you do need to be able to support your
idea.
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