Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) was a visionary of the theatre world who revolutionized the way we think about drama. Born in Augsburg, Germany, he was a multi-talented artist, who excelled as a dramatist, poet, theatre director and practitioner. He is widely regarded as the pioneer of a new theatrical style, famously known as 'epic theatre'. Brecht's unique approach to theatre, with its emphasis on social and political commentary, continues to inspire artists and audiences alike today.

Whether you're a theatre buff or simply appreciate great storytelling, there's no denying the lasting impact that Brecht has had on the world of drama. So let's raise the curtains and pay homage to the great Bertolt Brecht!

Bertolt Brecht: biography

Brecht has a very varied and interesting biography that no doubt influenced his work. Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht, who is known as Bertolt Brecht, was born on 10th February 1898 in Augsburg, Bavaria, in Germany. The dramatist had a middle-class upbringing.

His father, Berthold Friedrich Brecht, was a Roman Catholic who worked for a paper mill, while his mother, Sophie Brecht, was a Protestant.

Bertolt Brecht's education

Sophie influenced Brecht’s knowledge of the Bible, which he would later use in his writing. At school, Brecht met Caspar Neher, who would become his scenographer in the future; Neher developed the visual iconography for Brecht’s epic theatre.

The First World War broke out when Brecht was only sixteen years old. Seeing his classmates sent to the battlefield to die, Brecht expressed his anti-war views at school, for which he almost got expelled. He himself wasn’t conscripted into the army because of a loophole that meant that medical students could be deferred. That is why, in 1917, Brecht enrolled to study medicine at Munich University. It was there that he first studied Drama.

He was taught by drama researcher Arthur Kutscher, who was close friends with Frank Wedekind, one of the most famous German dramatists of the time. Wedekind’s work in iconoclastic drama and cabaret was one of Brecht’s first influences. He was also influenced by some foreign authors he admired, such as Arthur Rimbaud, François Villon, and Rudyard Kipling.

Brecht started writing plays, poetry, poems, and songs under the pseudonym of Bert Brecht. In 1919, Brecht had a son named Frank with Paula Banholzer, who was his first romantic partner. In 1920, Brecht’s mother died.

The beginning of Brecht's career

Brecht’s first three plays – Baal (his first full-length play written in 1918 and produced in 1923), Drums in the Night (1922), and In The Jungle of Cities 1924) – were in the expressionist style.

In 1922, when living in Munich, Brecht married Viennese opera-singer Marianne Zoff. In 1923, she gave birth to a daughter, Hanne. That same year, Brecht started working on his directorial debut, an adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II (1592). Brecht credited this debut as the starting point for the development of the ‘epic theatre’ concept. He got hired as an assistant dramaturg at Max Reinhardt’s Deutsches Theatre in Berlin, and he moved to live and work in the capital city.

Between 1924 and 1933, when living in Berlin, Brecht developed his concept for ‘epic theatre’ and became a Marxist. He had some affairs, and his second son, Stefan, was born in 1924. The mother, Elisabeth Hauptmann, was one of Brecht’s lovers, who would later work with him as a member of his writing collective. In 1927, Brecht and Marianne Zoff divorced. In 1928, Brecht collaborated with theatre composer Kurt Weill to create The Threepenny Opera.

In 1930, Brecht married Helene Weigel, who soon after the wedding gave birth to a daughter, Barbara. The same year, another collaboration between Brecht and Weill – Rise and Fall of the City of Mahogany – premiered. It resulted in an uproar from the Nazis in the audience.

Brecht, the Second World War, and later life

Brecht’s political views caused him to fear persecution in Nazi Germany, and so he fled the country in 1933. He and his wife, Helene Weigel, stayed in several countries in Scandinavia until, in 1941, they eventually settled in the United States.

Between 1941 and 1947, while he was living in America, Brecht worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood. During that period, Brecht expressed his anti-fascist and pro-socialist views in some of his most famous plays: Mother Courage and Her Children (1941), The Life of Galileo (1943), and The Good Woman of Setzuan (1943). Meanwhile, in Germany, Brecht’s works were destroyed and banned, and his German citizenship was withdrawn.

After World War II and during the Cold War, Brecht and Helene returned to Europe. They lived in Zurich, Switzerland, before moving back to Germany in 1949. Brecht lived in East Berlin, where he established his own theatre company, the Berliner Ensemble.

Although he was never a member of the Communist Party, Brecht was a sworn Marxist until the end of his life, and he enjoyed certain privileges in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) that other writers did not. In 1954, he received the Stalin Peace Prize.

Brecht died in Berlin at the age of 58 on 14th August 1956. The cause of his death was a heart attack.

Bertolt Brecht was one of the most influential modernist theatre practitioners and drama theorists. His ‘epic theatre’ concept has inspired the work of many contemporary playwrights, directors, and actors.

Fig. 3 - An infographic summary of Brecht's life and major literary accomplishments!

Bertolt Brecht’s major works and plays

Let’s take a look at three of Brecht’s most famous plays: The Threepenny Opera (1928), Mother Courage and Her Children (1941), and The Life of Galileo (1943).

The Threepenny Opera (1928)

The Threepenny Opera is a three-act musical drama by Bertolt Brecht with music by Kurt Weill.

The play was adapted from four ballads by François Villon and from Elisabeth Hauptmann’s translation of The Beggar’s Opera (1728) by John Gay. The Threepenny Opera premiered on 31st August 1928 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin.

Set in Victorian London, The Threepenny Opera is about the criminal Macheath, who wants to legitimise his illegal business. He marries Polly, the daughter of a ring of beggars, against the wishes of Polly’s parents. Her father almost gets Macheath arrested for his criminal activities, such as running brothels. Macheath is luckily saved in an unrealistic parody of a happy ending.

The play has socialist elements and offers a satirical critique of capitalist society. The Threepenny Opera was Brecht’s first play to incorporate his ‘epic theatre’ concept. All techniques, including the songs, are used to encourage the viewers to think objectively.

Mother Courage and Her Children (1941)

Mother Courage and Her Children is a 12-scene chronicle play by Bertolt Brecht.

It was written in 1939 with the contribution of the German actress and writer Margarete Steffin, who was Brecht’s collaborator. The play premiered in 1941 at the Schauspielhaus Zürich in Switzerland.

Mother Courage and Her Children is set in 17th-century Europe during the Thirty Years’ War. The story revolves around a woman who suffers the loss of her children because of war but, at the same time, depends on war to make her living. Mother Courage and Her Children is considered to be one of the greatest anti-war dramas.

The Life of Galileo (1943)

The Life of Galileo is another play by Bertolt Brecht featuring music by Hans Eisler.

The drama was written in 1938, and it premiered on 9th September 1943 at the Schauspielhaus Zürich in Switzerland.

Set during Renaissance Italy, The Life of Galileo is a play about the famous astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei. In the later parts of his life, as he makes extraordinary scientific discoveries, Galileo is opposed by the Catholic Church. The Life of Galileo tackles the themes of knowledge, progress, and the social responsibility of scientists.

Bertolt Brecht’s techniques: what is epic theatre?

Epic theatre is a style of theatre that was created and developed by Bertolt Brecht. It stands in opposition to traditional dramatic theatre. Brecht's plays, therefore, have Brechtian techniques (or Brechtian devices) that can be recognised by comparing the differences between epic theatre and dramatic theatre.

Brecht defined the aim of epic theatre as to critically engage the audience – to make the spectators think about the issues presented on stage so that they can leave the theatre determined to act on them.

Bertolt Brecht’s contribution to literature

Bertolt Brecht was one of the most prominent playwrights, theatre practitioners, and drama theorists of the 20th century. His plays have been translated into many languages, and every year numerous productions of them are staged around the world.

Brecht did something revolutionary; he thought of drama as more than just entertainment, as a means to foster critical thinking that could lead to changes in society, in the world outside the theatre.

What is more, he created and developed a set of dramatic techniques to support his concept of an ‘epic theatre’. Brecht’s legacy has inspired many modernist and postmodernist dramatists to create socially-engaged drama.

Bertolt Brecht: facts

Whether you're a seasoned theatre enthusiast or just discovering Brecht for the first time, here are some interesting facts about the man!

• Brecht was born in Augsburg, Germany and studied medicine and philosophy at Ludwig Maximilian University before turning to writing and theatre.
• He is considered one of the most influential playwrights of the 20th century, particularly in the development of the genre of epic theatre.
• Brecht's epic theatre sought to break the illusion of reality in the theatre and encourage critical reflection on social and political issues.
• Brecht was called for military service as a medical orderly in 1918.
• Brecht was a Marxist and his political views frequently informed his work, including his support for the anti-fascist movement during the Spanish Civil War and his opposition to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi regime.
• Brecht was forced to flee Germany in 1933 due to his political views and went into exile, first in Denmark and then in the United States.
• Brecht returned to East Berlin in 1949 after the establishment of the German Democratic Republic and continued to write and direct plays until his death in 1956.
• Brecht is buried in the Dorotheenstadt Cemetery in the Mitte neighbourhood of Berlin.
• Brecht's last wish was to have his heart pierced by a stiletto and his body buried in a steel coffin so it would not be riddled with worms