Introduction

Abstract

In the twenty-five years since Brecht’s death his plays have reached a world-wide audience and the terms “epic theatre” and Verfremdungseffekt (usually, but not very helpfully translated as “alienation effect”) have gained wide currency. Yet while the plays of his maturity — The Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and her Children, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Good Woman of Szechwan — continue to be produced quite successfully both in Germany and abroad, a certain weariness with Brecht, a feeling of over-familiarity with his themes, techniques and style has made itself felt in recent years, with the result that his later work is sometimes talked about with more respect than enthusiasm. Even the Berliner Ensemble, the company he led in East Berlin after his return from exile and which scored brilliant successes both under his direction and that of his disciples, has found difficulty in developing fresh and exciting approaches to his plays. On the other hand, there has lately been a growing interest in his earlier work which previously tended to be overshadowed both in the theatre and in critical discussion by his later plays and theory. New productions of Baal, Drums in the Night, The Life of Edward the Second, A Mon’s a Man, The Threepenny Opera and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny have been received with interest and enthusiasm, and one English newspaper felt it was worth publishing lengthy extracts from his early diaries when these appeared here in translation. The present study aims to meet and perhaps further stimulate this increasing general interest in Brecht’s early work.KeywordsEnglish NewspaperWide CurrencyPractical AchievementEarly PlayEpic TheatreThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.