Brecht is famous in the Western world for challenging two theatrical customs: that of the "well-made play" and that of realism in acting. His vision of what drama could do led to the adoption of epic theatre. In Private Life, he also experimented with another form: documentary theatre.
Epic Theatre
This form of theatre is now known as Brechtian, after Bertolt Brecht, but he himself called it dialectical theatre. The name suits it, as its purpose was to make the audience think about their own lives and how they might change it, hopefully starting a dialogue among the people. He stressed appealing to a theatre-goer's reason over of his emotion. It is intended to be instructive.
To achieve this, Brecht employed alienation, a method that constantly reminds the audience that they are watching a performance. A far cry from the realistic theatre, which draws the audience into the world of the play and encourages them to sympathize with characters, epic theatre is designed to remind the audience that what they are seeing on stage is an act, but what they are living through in their lives is real. The goal is to induce a sense detachment, and allow the theatre-goer to think about his life and the message that is being driven home. This is not to say that the audience should not relate to the characters, but the effect should be their consideration of the subject in a new way.
From a playwriting stance, an epic play does not mimic a well-made play, which is typically comprised of three or five acts and follows a clear climactic plot structure. Instead, any flow created may be interrupted at any time - part of alienating the audience from the characters. This is clearly demonstrated in Private Life, as each scene is separated from the others by a song.
Finally, in practice, many epic theatre productions choose to have minimal, non-realistic sets, often allowing atage lighting or backstage hands to be seen by the audience. This re-enforces the fact that the audience is watching an act of real life, and not real life itself.
To achieve this, Brecht employed alienation, a method that constantly reminds the audience that they are watching a performance. A far cry from the realistic theatre, which draws the audience into the world of the play and encourages them to sympathize with characters, epic theatre is designed to remind the audience that what they are seeing on stage is an act, but what they are living through in their lives is real. The goal is to induce a sense detachment, and allow the theatre-goer to think about his life and the message that is being driven home. This is not to say that the audience should not relate to the characters, but the effect should be their consideration of the subject in a new way.
From a playwriting stance, an epic play does not mimic a well-made play, which is typically comprised of three or five acts and follows a clear climactic plot structure. Instead, any flow created may be interrupted at any time - part of alienating the audience from the characters. This is clearly demonstrated in Private Life, as each scene is separated from the others by a song.
Finally, in practice, many epic theatre productions choose to have minimal, non-realistic sets, often allowing atage lighting or backstage hands to be seen by the audience. This re-enforces the fact that the audience is watching an act of real life, and not real life itself.
Documentary Theatre
Documentary theatre is exactly what it sounds like: theatre used to document current events. This means using newspaper articles, interviews, and observances in the script with the intention of creating a piece of theatre that explains the current situation and encourages the audience to react. An example of this kind of theatre is Power, which is a "Living Newspaper," and interestingly enough was also produced in the 1930s. It used newspaper articles to created individual scenes that depicted life at the time, revolving around one organization: the electric companies. Brecht's drama is also comprised of separate scenes depicting how the Nazi regime affected the lives of people all over Germany. The similarities between the two works makes Power worth a glance over.
Documentary theatre is a very blatant form of political drama, because it clearly depicts current events and makes a statement about them. In Private Life, Brecht uses these scenarios to condone the Nazi regime and reveal the "private life" in Germany that others may be blind to.
Documentary theatre is a very blatant form of political drama, because it clearly depicts current events and makes a statement about them. In Private Life, Brecht uses these scenarios to condone the Nazi regime and reveal the "private life" in Germany that others may be blind to.