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The result of twenty-five years of research on three continents, Brecht and Company is a revolutionary portrait of one of the world's greatest theater artists -- and the people upon whom he built his reputation. A noted Brecht scholar, John Fuegi traces the evolution of Brecht's parasitic relationships and aggressive ambition through close analysis of diaries, letters, and drafts of the literary works, revealing a man who was personally dazzling, a genius at assembling and directing the plays created in his workshop, but ultimately lacking in literary stamina, for which he depended on his lovers. A landmark study about the life and times of one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century theater, Brecht and Co. will forever change our understanding of Brecht and his oeuvre. "[An] enormous, fascinating biography." -- The New Yorker "One of the most important critical studies of the century." -- New York Magazine
These essays represent the push to provide interdisciplinary Brecht research to English-speaking audiences following his death in 1956 and offer novel readings of his works indicative of the major literary questions of the time. The essays explore both Brecht's theoretical approach and political thought, with many also taking a comparative approach to analysis of individual plays. The contributors are Reinhold Grimm, Karl-Heinz Schoeps, Herbert Knust, Hans Meyer, Siegfried Mews, Raymond English, James Lyon, Darko Suvin, Gisela Bahr, Grace Allen, Ralph Ley, John Fuegi, Andrzej Wirth and David Bathrick.
This is the first full-length study in any language of Bertolt Brecht's day-to-day work as a theatre director. Professor Fuegi has researched his subject extensively over many years, and this book is the result of interviews with Brecht's closest associates (including Helene Weigel, Angelika Hurwicz, Elisabeth Hauptmann and Hans Bunge), inspection of the unpublished typescripts recording several years of Brecht rehearsals at the Berlin Ensemble, and consultation of archival materials in Moscow, Berlin and Harvard University. Although Brecht is acknowledged worldwide as having changed our whole conception of playwriting, acting and directing, virtually nothing has been previously published wh...
Argues that critics have misunderstood the relationship between male playwrights and women's roles because they have neglected the interpretive skills of the actresses playing those roles. Analyzes hypothetical as well as historical performances to demonstrate how women have invented acting styles to portray women created by playwrights from Ibsen to Beckett. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
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New Theatre Quarterly provides an international forum where theatrical scholarship and practice can meet. Topics covered in number 44 include: 'Spectatorial Theory in the Age of the Media Culture', and 'The Company You Keep: Subversive Thoughts on the Impact of the Playwright and the Performer'.
Re-Dressing the Canon examines the relationship between gender and performance in a series of essays which combine the critique of specific live performances with an astute theoretical analysis. Alisa Solomon discusses both canonical texts and contemporary productions in a lively jargon-free style. Among the dramatic texts considered are those of Aristophanes, Ibsen, Yiddish theatre, Mabou Mines, Deborah Warner, Shakespeare, Brecht, Split Britches, Ridiculous Theatre, and Tony Kushner. Bringing to bear theories of 'gender performativity' upon theatrical events, the author explores: * the 'double disguise' of cross-dressed boy-actresses * how gender relates to genre (particularly in Ibsens' realism) * how canonical theatre represented gender in ways which maintain traditional images of masculinity and femininity.
This updated edition properly retains much that was in the original Companion, but also introduces new voices and themes. It brings together the contrasting views of major critics and active practitioners and contains new essays on Brecht's early experience of cabaret, his significance in the development of film theory and his unique approach to dramaturgy. A detailed calendar of Brecht's life and work and a selective bibliography of English criticism complete this thorough overview of a writer who constantly aimed to provoke. Book jacket.
This introduction to practicing literary theory is a reader consisting of extracts from critical analyses, largely by 20th century Anglo-American literary critics, set around major literary texts that undergraduate students are known to be familiar with. It is specifically targeted to present literary criticism through practical examples of essays by literary theorists themselves, on texts both within and outside the literary canon. Four example essays are included for each author/text presented.