A Guide To The Plays Of Bertolt Brecht (Plays and Playwrights)

Stephen Unwin's __A Guide to the Plays of Bertolt Brecht__ is an indispensable, comprehensive and highly readable companion to the dramatic work of this challenging and rewarding writer. Besides providing detailed accounts of nineteen key plays, it explores their context and Brecht's dramatic theory to equip readers with a rich understanding of how Brecht's work was shaped by his times and by his evolving thinking about the function of theatre. Bertolt Brecht's work as a director, his critical and theoretical writing, and above all the remarkable plays that emerged from one of the most turbulent periods in history have had a profound and lasting influence on theatre. Central to theatre studies courses and whose plays are frequently revived on stage, Brecht is nevertheless perceived as a difficult writer. This companion is divided into two sections: the first seven chapters outline the tumultuous historical, cultural and theatrical context of Brecht's work. They explore his theatrical theory and provide an account of his approach to staging his plays which informs an understanding of how they work in practice. The second section provides an analysis of nineteen plays in six chronological groupings, each prefaced by a brief sketch of Brecht's life and theatrical development in that period. For each play, Stephen Unwin offers a synopsis, a critical commentary and an account of the work in performance. The book concludes with an examination of Brecht's legacy and a chronicle of his life and times. Written by experienced theatre director Stephen Unwin, this is the perfect companion to Brecht's plays and life for student and theatre practitioner alike. Cover 1 Contents 8 Preface 10 1 THE DARK TIMES 12 2 BRECHT: PLAYWRIGHT, POET AND ARTIST 25 3 POLITICS, ECONOMICS AND A NEW MORALITY 38 4 ART AND CULTURE 46 5 TOWARDS A MARXIST THEATRE 53 6 KEY CONCEPTS OF BRECHA'S THEATRICAL THEORY 68 7 STAGING BRECHT 76 8 FOUR EARLY PLAYS 87 Baal 90 Drums in the Night 96 In the Jungle of the Cities 102 Man equals Man 110 9 TWO MUSIC-THEATRE PIECES AND KURT WEILL 119 The Threepenny Opera 121 The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny 129 10 MARXISM AND THE THEATRE 135 Saint Joan of the Stockyards 138 The Decision 148 The Mother 155 11 OPPOSITION PLAYS 162 Fear and Misery of the Third Reich 165 Señora Carrar's Rifles 174 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui 180 Schweyk in the Second World War 189 12 FIVE GREAT PLAYS 196 Life of Galileo 199 The Good Person of Szechwan 210 Mother Courage and her Children 218 Mr Puntila and his Man Matti 227 The Caucasian Chalk Circle 233 13 A LATE MASTERPIECE 244 The Days of the Commune 248 14 LEGACY 255 15 CHRONICLE 260

A guide to all of Brecht's key plays that sets them in their historical, dramaturgical and political contexts

Stephen Unwin provides a clear and readable guide to Brecht's plays that will prove invaluable to the student, teacher and theatre practitioner. Grouping and analysing plays chronologically according to their context, Unwin also considers Brecht's theory and looks at his impact and the legacy that he left. The Guide covers:

* Three Early Plays and Expressionism
* Two Music Theatre Pieces and Kurt Weill
* Marxism and the Theatre
* Opposition Plays
* Five Great Plays
* A Late Masterpiece
* Theory and Practice
* Brecht's Legacy

Written by the Artistic Director of English Touring Theatre and the author of a range of theatre studies books, this is a perfect companion to the plays of Brecht for the student and theatre practitioner.

Unwin provides a guide to Brecht's plays that will prove useful to the student, teacher and theatre practitioner. Grouping and analysing plays chronologically according to their context, Unwin also considers Brecht's theory and looks at his impact and the legacy that he left