Bertolt Brecht, born in Germany 1898 and raised by a family of middle class, was a German. In his strong political and sociological views, he found the perfect medium to express these views. Brecht’s ‘Epic Theatre,’ is a unique style that he created to convince an audience and elicit societal change. Epic Theatre is a combination of a realistic approach, with underlying political messages and comic elements. Brechts’ own experiences have influenced his politics. After the 2nd World War Brecht moved to Soviet occupied East Germany where he became an advocate of communism. The plays were for the workers of the time, who could use them as a way to express their views and fight against the Capitalist oppression that they faced.
Brecht’s intention was to use his theatre as a tool for expressing his political opinion and attracting people, while allowing the audience to remain detached and see the stage in its natural state and the actors playing characters. Brecht uses the verfremdungseffekt, or V-Effekt, to create distance between what’s happening onstage and his audience. This allows him to achieve epic theatre and provokes thought. The V effect is designed to make the audience aware of its place within the theatre throughout the entire performance. It encourages them to ask questions and be critical. A member of the audience should never become hypnotised by the show or be emotionally involved. Actors can deliberately ignore the fourth-wall by speaking directly to an audience, either through monologues or speeches. A narrator can also be used (The Caucasian Chalk Circle), as well as songs or placards. The National Theatre shows this with their adaptation of The Causaion Chalk Circle. Nutella, the wife of the governor, is seen smoking on top of the pram. This scene demonstrates the total disregard of her child. This keeps the audience from being able to see what is happening on stage. The actor can be distinguished from the character as they demonstrate their opinion and contradict it by using their gestures. Brecht’s theatres allowed spectators to smoke, chat, and relax. Brecht didn’t want his audience to feel uncomfortable and leave. Brecht’s plays were characterized by a lot of Spass. Brecht believed that it was a way to deliver a social and political message more effectively while still making his plays fun. Brecht believed “a theatre which cannot be laughed at is not a theatre worth laughing at”. Bertolt Brecht used spass as a way to encourage his audience to think more critically. Bertolt Brecht took inspiration from arts like cabaret, silent film and other forms of art that used spass. Bertolt Brecht incorporated comedy into most of, if not his entire plays. His theatre employs comedy that was time-appropriate at the time of its creation but is now redundant due to changes in times. Brecht’s humor is mostly ironic and dark. It provides light in darkness, finding the comedy in society. People think that comedy is lost in the age-appropriate humor, particularly when it’s used to make political statements. It has a different effect on the audience today than it did at its inception. Since Brecht wrote his plays, the characters that were meant to mock society and oppress capitalists have become stereotypical and redundant to a contemporary audience. Brecht used humor in an intelligent way. He did not force comedy on his audience. Instead he combined two acting styles that were contrasting or used irony. Brecht might place an ‘normal’, level-headed character with a character who is overly exaggerated. Both characters express their political views while the other is exposed. In The Caucasian Chalk Circle Natella, Azdak, and the other characters mock the upper classes of society. Grusha the peasant woman, however, is sophisticated. Grusha proves to be the better mother despite Natella’s wealth. The audience can decide which mother is better. Brecht’s works are full of slapstick and humor. In Mother Courage and Her Children Brecht uses humor to express his political viewpoints. Brecht uses humor in several of the lines he says to her sons when they are conscripted. The first scene where her sons are conscripted, Brecht uses comedy through several lines such as. Brecht uses the quotes to make fun of conscription and demonstrate his political views. Kattrin’s sacrifice of herself as a warning to the village is another example. Mother Courage sings as Kattrin ‘falls sleep’ or dies. This song has several lines like “neighbours children go hungry while you eat cake, or neighbours kids grizzle and my kids are gay”, showing that it is a song for a wealthy household. Ironic since Mother Courage was always poor and her family. Irony is a great way to show Brecht’s support for communism and equality of wealth and stature. Comedy, or “spass”, was used to deliver social and political messages from stage-to-audience in a humorous but convincing manner. Brecht’s goal was to enable the audience, through his performance, to take into account what they had seen on stage. The audience would be more inclined to want to change the capitalist society they lived in after seeing the play. Productions of Brechtian plays in modern culture and society are unlikely to achieve Brecht’s true and original intentions because society has changed. Brecht used comedy to make his political points in many of his plays. Bertolt Brecht wrote his plays primarily to convey his political, social and economic views. Audience analysis was used to convince them. The audience was not forced to accept his views, but Brecht used a variety of techniques to get them on board. Verfremdungseffekt was his most important technique, which distanced the audience from the action on stage. The lighting, the acting or the placards were all used to achieve this. He used his comedy skills to communicate subtly and effectively with the audience. The purpose of using comedy in this manner was to open up the audience to new ideas and encourage them to listen to what is being said. If they are having fun, the audience will stay to watch the play and not want to leave.
