University College Dublin, Faculty of Arts, School of English and Drama
Seminar: “Brecht and Political Theatre”
13th December 2005

The spectator and not the actor is the central focus of Brecht’s stagecraft

by

Reni Ernst

Contents

I. Introduction: Brecht’s epic theatre... 2

II. ‘The spectator and not the actor is the central focus of Brecht’s stagecraft’... 3

1. Verfremdungseffekt in Brecht’s theatre... 3
2. Gestus and Haltung... 8
3. Special case: Lehrstück... 11

III. Conclusion... 13

Bibliography... 14

I. Introduction: Brecht’s epic theatre

The most important principle of Brecht’s epic theatre is its aim of representing conditions rather than developing actions. This theatre is designed to show attitudes in the sense of relationships between people, their connections to the environment and their roles in politics and society. Thus the human being is the focus, the object of inquiry of Brecht’s plays, but not as an individual but as a social being which is shaped and changed through interactions with society through life. Furthermore each scene has its own value and is in itself determined through beginning and end. Therefore it is possible to connect only the most important scenes, one after another, whereas in a completed action, such as the case in dramatic theatre defined by Aristotle, one scene results out of another. In Brecht’s plays the focus lies on the process of the story, on the how and why, rather than on the product and the ending, on the what. Combining these two main principles of Brechtian theatre, the human being and the process, the overall aim is to study the human being in the process of society, raising the question if changes can be made in order to alter present conditions.
In order to achieve changes in society the spectators have to be made aware of situations that need to be changed. Brecht attains this purpose by evoking the spectator’s astonishment with the support of the basic concepts of epic theatre, Verfremdung and Gestus and Haltung. Accordingly there has to be closer look taken at the way in which these two elements have an impact on the spectator’s attitude towards society and how they are used on stage in order to make the audience act itself. II. ‘The spectator and not the actor is the central focus of Brecht’s stagecraft’

1. Verfremdungseffekt in Brecht’s theatre

Brecht regarded the art of theatre to be entertaining and at the same time informative. The audience should not merely sit in the theatre having fun while watching but open their eyes to the peculiar situations shown on stage; the spectator should identify with changing situations in real life.

“The audience, in his [,Brecht’s,] view, should not be made to feel emotions, it
should be made to think. But identification with the characters of the play makes
thinking almost impossible: the audience whose souls have crept into that of the
hero will see the action entirely from his point of view, and as they are
breathlessly following a course of events which, in suspension of disbelief, they
accept as really happening before their very eyes, they have neither the time nor
the detachment to sit back and reflect in a truly critical spirit on the social and
moral implications of the play.” (Esslin 114/115)

In order to achieve this purpose Brecht uses the Verfremdungseffekt, which is considered the key concept of his epic theatre. According to his own interpretation, Brecht described the term as being a combination of stage design, music, lighting as well as Historisierung and Gestus. (compare: Brooker 62) The crucial point of the Verfremdungseffekt is the defamiliarization of situations the spectator thinks he is familiar with but is actually forced to take a closer look.

“Die Wirkung verfremdeter Darstellung soll damit die Einsicht sein, daß
gemeinhin als notwendig und aus einem ehernen geschichtlichen Gesetz
resultierend angesehene gesellschaftliche Gegebenheiten keineswegs so bleiben
müssen.“ (Ludwig 38)

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