Brecht’s intellectual plays explored the Marxist theories and concepts of state control and manipulation of citizens, what people consider normal behaviour under capitalism, brain-washing and propaganda, and the rise of Hitler. Let’s looks at some of the plays by Bertolt Brecht:
Bertolt Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956) was an important German Marxist playwright and director in the Weimar Republic-era who pioneered Lehrstücke – which Brecht translated as “learning-play”.
Brecht’s opposition to the National Socialists and fascism was evident in his plays Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and Her Children, The Good Person of Szechwan, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Fear and Misery of the Third Reich, and many others.
Brecht’s plays include The Threepenny Opera (1928) with composer Kurt Weill, Mother Courage and Her Children (1941), The Good Person of Szechwan (1943), and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (1958).
His plays were banned in Germany in the 1930s, and in 1933, he went into exile, first in Denmark and then Finland. He moved to Santa Monica, California, in 1941, hoping to write for Hollywood.
In 1943, Brecht joined forces with fellow exiles Fritz Lang and composer Hanns Eisler for the creation of the film “Hangmen Also Die!” This project marked his sole Hollywood screenplay and was loosely inspired by the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, a high-ranking SS official.
Bertolt Brecht was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee to determine whether he was a communist and narrowly escaped becoming one of the infamous “Hollywood Ten”.
Lehrstücke = learning-play
Brecht gave a lot of thought to his theory and technique. His plays were ‘epic’ in that the dramatic action was episodic – a disconnected montage of scenes, non- representational staging, and the ‘alienation effect’. Epic theatre is not meant to refer to the scale or the scope of the work, but rather to the form that it takes.
Brecht’s plays were an attempt to shock audiences out of complacency through what he called Verfremdungseffekt (“defamiliarization” or “distancing effect”). As a director, he advocated the “alienation effect” in acting, intentionally keeping the audience emotionally uninvolved in the plights of the characters.
Brecht employed various techniques to disrupt the audience’s emotional identification with the characters. He wanted to create a critical distance, encouraging viewers to analyze and question what they were seeing. This included elements like breaking the fourth wall, using placards with text, and changing the settings during a scene.
Brecht’s earliest drama was influenced by the plays of Büchner and Frank Wedekind, displaying the heightened emotion and subjectivity of German Expressionist drama, and gradually transitioned to the greater detachment evident in his later plays.
Plays by Bertolt Brecht: In the Jungle of Cities
“In the Jungle of Cities” was written between 1921 and 1924, and premiered at the Residenz Theater in Munich on 9 May 1923, starring Erwin Faber and Otto Wernicke in the central roles of Garga and Schlink. The premiere was disrupted several times by Nazis in the audience, who whistled, yelled and threw stink bombs at the actors. This became a regular occurrence at Brecht’s plays and musicals.
In the prologue to “In the Jungle of Cities”, Brecht says:
“You are in Chicago in 1912. You are about to witness an inexplicable wrestling match between two men and observe the downfall of a family that has moved from the prairies to the jungle of the big city. Don’t worry your heads about the motives of the fight; concentrate on the stakes. Judge the contenders’ technique impartially, and keep your eyes fixed on the finish.”
In the Jungle of Cities – Bertolt Brecht
Al Pacino starred in a New York City production of “In the Jungle of Cities” in 1979, directed by the famous Romanian director Liviu Ciulei.
Plays by Bertolt Brecht: “Man Equals Man” … or … “A Man’s a Man“
Man Equals Man explores personality and human identity as something that can be manipulated, dismantled and reassembled like a machine by an authoritarian state social order to produce useful soldiers, factory workers, pupils, etc.
Man Equals Man is set in British colonial India and tells the parable of the transformation of a civilian, Galy Gay, into the perfect soldier.
Man Equals Man unfolds in the remote setting of Kilkoa, situated in Nepal, where four British soldiers embark on a daring raid of a temple, driven by their desire for its treasures.
During their expedition, circumstances compel them to abandon one of their comrades. In an attempt to cover up their involvement in the crime, they persuade a local porter named J. Galgei to take the missing soldier’s place during the roll call. Galgei, unsuspecting of the unexpected turn his life is about to take, becomes entangled in this intricate web of deception.
Theatre critic Walter Kerr called the play a “curious foreshadowing of the art of brainwashing.” Brecht’s The Elephant Calf was originally an “intermission piece” during the main play.
Tonight you will see
Man Equals Man – Bertolt Brecht
A man reassembled like a car.
Leaving all his individual components
Just as they are.
In 1931, Brecht directed his play “Man Equals Man” in Berlin starring Peter Lorre, a Hungarian / American actor who caused an international sensation that same year by starring in the Fritz Lang directed film M (1931), in which he portrayed a serial killer who preyed on young girls.
Plays by Bertolt Brecht: The Threepenny Opera
“The Threepenny Opera” (German: Die Dreigroschenoper) first performed in 1928, is a socialist critique of capitalism which includes the well known songs “The Ballad of Mack the Knife” (German: “Die Moritat von Mackie Messer”) and “Pirate Jenny” (German: “Seeräuberjenny”) by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht.
In The Threepenny Opera, Brecht proposes that a capitalist system drives people to do anything to make money, including stealing, killing and selling their bodies, because capitalism rewards ruthless competition.
The Great Depression of October 1929 hit Germany hard, causing high unemployment, social unrest and political extremism which led to the collapse of the German coalition government. On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor to head a new coalition government.
Brecht and Weill left Germany in February 1933 following the Nazi coming to power and lived in exile in Scandinavia. The Nazis burned all of Brecht’s books in 1933. By then, The Threepenny Opera had been translated into 18 languages and performed more than 10,000 times on European stages.
Plays by Bertolt Brecht: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
“Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny” is a political-satirical opera composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto or accompanying text written by Bertolt Brecht. It was first performed on 9 March 1930 in Leipzig and caused an uproar with Nazis in the audience.
The relationship between musical composer and libretto (or lyricist) is obviously important and has produced other famous 20th century collaborations, as with Gilbert and Sullivan; or Rodgers and Hammerstein; and Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.
Plays by Bertolt Brecht: The Decision/The Measures Taken
“The Decision/The Measures Taken” was written in 1930. In the play with six major songs, four communist agitators from Moscow tell of their mission to educate and help organize workers in China.
Brecht sought refuge in the US in 1941 with the goal to write for Hollywood.
Plays by Bertolt Brecht: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
Brecht wrote The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui in just three weeks in 1941 while he was waiting in Helsinki, Finland for a visa to enter the United States.
The play was not produced on the stage until 1958, after his death, and not until 1961 in English. Set in Chicago, Brecht wrote the play for an American audience.
Brecht’s favorite film actor Charlie Chaplin released his masterpiece film The Great Dictator in 1940, which also featured an absurd parody of Hitler.
The play has frequent references to Shakespeare. Ui is compared to Richard III, as in Macbeth, Ui is visited by the ghost of one of his victims.
Hitler’s practiced prowess at public speaking is referenced when Ui receives lessons from an actor in walking, sitting and orating, which includes his reciting Mark Antony’s speech from Julius Caesar.
Plays by Bertolt Brecht: The Caucasian Chalk Circle
“The Caucasian Chalk Circle” was first performed in 1948 and is one of Brecht’s most famous and enduring works. The play is set in the Caucasus region of Russia and tells the story of a young servant girl named Grusha who rescues a baby boy during a violent coup and raises him as her own.
The title of the play refers to a chalk circle drawn on the ground, which becomes a central symbol in the story. The chalk circle represents the disputed ownership of the child, and a judge ultimately uses it to determine the child’s rightful mother.
Brecht’s play is known for its use of epic theater techniques, including the “alienation effect” to keep the audience emotionally detached and intellectually engaged. The play is also notable for its use of music, songs, and a Brechtian narrator who comments on the action and guides the audience’s interpretation.
“The Caucasian Chalk Circle” explores themes of justice, morality, and the role of the individual in society. It is a thought-provoking and politically charged work that invites the audience to consider questions of social responsibility and the consequences of their actions.
Related stories
This story is part of a feature series on Bertolt Brecht and the 1980s theatre scene by photographer & writer, Mark Anning.
Brecht’s Man Equals Man by Theatre of the Deaf
Heinrich Hoffman photographs Adolf Hitler public speaking
The history of the Nimrod Theatre Company, Sydney
Brecht, Hollywood Ten, House UnAmerican Activities Committee
Bertolt Brecht: Revolution in Theater & Social Consciousness
John Bell re-enacts historic Hitler – Hoffman photo session
Further reading
Man Equals Man and the Elephant Calf: And the Elephant Calf
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht, et al (Paperback – February 2001)
The Good Woman of Setzuan — by Bertolt Brecht, Eric Bentley
Collected Stories — by Bertolt Brecht, et al; Paperback
Mother Courage and Her Children — by Bertolt Brecht, Eric Bentley
Brecht Collected Plays Vol 1 — Bertolt Brecht, et al (Paperback – Methuen Publishing Ltd – 30 August, 1994)
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui — Bertolt Brecht, et al (Paperback – Methuen Publishing Ltd – 3 September, 1981)
Brecht Collected Plays Vol 6 — Bertolt Brecht, et al (Paperback – Methuen Publishing Ltd – 30 August, 1994)
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