This Companion offers students crucial guidance on virtually every aspect of the work of this complex and controversial writer, bringing together the contrasting views of major critics and active practitioners. The opening essays place Brecht's creative work in its historical and biographical context and are followed by chapters on single texts, from The Threepenny Opera to The Caucasian Chalk Circle, on some early plays, on the Lehrstücke and on the neglected contribution of Elisabeth Hauptmann to the Brecht canon. The third group of essays analyse Brecht's directing, his theatrical theories, his poetry, his interest in music, his significant collaboration with stage designers and his work with actors, concluding with an assessment of Brecht's continuing influence on theatre practice. A detailed calendar of Brecht's life and work and a selective bibliography of English criticism complete this provocative overview of a writer who constantly aimed to provoke.
Table of contents:
A Brecht calendar; A note on titles; Part I. Context and Life: 1. Brecht's Germany: 1898-1933 Eve Rosenhaft; 2. Brecht's lives Peter Thompson; 3. Part II. The Plays: 4. Brecht's early plays Tony Meech; 5. The Threepenny Opera Stephen McNeff; 6. Brecht's clowns: Man is Man and after Joel Schlechter; 7. Learning for a new society: the Lehrstück and after Roswitha Mueller; 8. Saint Joan of the Stockyards Christopher McCullough; 9. The Zelda syndrome: Brecht and Elisabeth Hauptmann John Fuegi; 10. The good person of Szechwan: discourse of a masquerade Elizabeth Wright; 11. Mother courage and her children Robert Leach; 12. Heavenly food denied: Life of Galileo Darko Suvin; 13. The Caucasian Chalk Circle: the view from Europe Maria Shevtsova; Part III. Theories and Practices: 14. Brecht and the Berliner Ensemble - the making of a model Carl Weber; 15. Key words in Brecht's theory and practice of theatre Peter Brooker; 16. Brecht's poetry Philip Tomson; 17. Brecht and music: theory and practice Kim H. Kowalke; 18. Brecht and stage design: the Bühnenbildner and the Bühnenbauer Christopher Baugh; 19. Actors on Brecht Margaret Eddershaw; 20. Brecht's legacy Michael Patterson; Bibliography; Index of works by Brecht; General index.
This Companion offers students crucial guidance on the whole of Brecht's theatrical career, bringing together the contrasting views of major critics and active practitioners to offer a provocative overview, complete with illustrations and reference material.
This Companion offers nineteen essays and reference material covering the whole of Brecht's theatre work.
Table of contents:
A Brecht calendar; A note on titles; Part I. Context and Life: 1. Brecht's Germany: 1898-1933 Eve Rosenhaft; 2. Brecht's lives Peter Thompson; 3. Part II. The Plays: 4. Brecht's early plays Tony Meech; 5. The Threepenny Opera Stephen McNeff; 6. Brecht's clowns: Man is Man and after Joel Schlechter; 7. Learning for a new society: the Lehrstück and after Roswitha Mueller; 8. Saint Joan of the Stockyards Christopher McCullough; 9. The Zelda syndrome: Brecht and Elisabeth Hauptmann John Fuegi; 10. The good person of Szechwan: discourse of a masquerade Elizabeth Wright; 11. Mother courage and her children Robert Leach; 12. Heavenly food denied: Life of Galileo Darko Suvin; 13. The Caucasian Chalk Circle: the view from Europe Maria Shevtsova; Part III. Theories and Practices: 14. Brecht and the Berliner Ensemble - the making of a model Carl Weber; 15. Key words in Brecht's theory and practice of theatre Peter Brooker; 16. Brecht's poetry Philip Tomson; 17. Brecht and music: theory and practice Kim H. Kowalke; 18. Brecht and stage design: the Bühnenbildner and the Bühnenbauer Christopher Baugh; 19. Actors on Brecht Margaret Eddershaw; 20. Brecht's legacy Michael Patterson; Bibliography; Index of works by Brecht; General index.
This Companion offers students crucial guidance on the whole of Brecht's theatrical career, bringing together the contrasting views of major critics and active practitioners to offer a provocative overview, complete with illustrations and reference material.
This Companion offers nineteen essays and reference material covering the whole of Brecht's theatre work.