The Complete Brecht Toolkit

by Stephen Unwin

A practical, hands-on guide - for actors, directors, teachers and students - to Brecht's history and practice of theatre.

The Complete Brecht Toolkit examines, one by one, Brecht's many, sometimes contradictory ideas about theatre - and how he put them into practice. Here are explanations of all the famous key terms, such as Alienation Effect, Epic Theatre and Gestus, as well as many others which go to make up what we think of as 'Brechtian theatre'.

There follows a section which looks at the practical application of these theories in Acting, Language, Music, Design and Direction. And finally, the book offers fifty exercises for student actors to investigate Brecht's ideas for themselves, becoming thoroughly familiar with the tools in the Brecht toolkit.

Genres: Theatre, Germany, Nonfiction, Plays

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Eve K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book! A clear and comprehensive introduction to and analysing of Brecht. As a director, it’s sometimes hard to find books that are helpful since a lot of guides are targeted towards actors, but this is definitely one. Even if you’re not planning on directing a Brecht piece, it has useful ideas that can expand one’s view on theatre and how it’s done. The book is excellent for a director, but it also has sections and 50 exercises towards actors and teachers.

My only critique of the book was the chapter on defining epic theatre. If you don’t know what it is, it can be confusingly formatted. I ended up googling the term and then the chapter made sense, but you can also skip to the end of page 59, where it summarises epic theatre, and then go back to read the chapter.

[Jon Davison · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing. This book had been sitting on my must-read shelf for a while and i had great hopes for it. I assumed, by the title, and the fact that it contained exercises, that it would be eminently practical, and written from a point of view of practitioners with great experience and awareness about Brecht, his methods, and their applicability today. But the exercises occupy a rather small chapter at the end, which is introduced by a section in which the author and his colleague involved in devising the exercises admit to, respectively, not knowing how to teach Brecht to actors, and never having really 'got' Brecht. As someone who started my career in Brecht-influence productions and has always struggled to 'get' Stanislavski, I would never dream of writing a book entitled 'The Stanislavski Toolkit'.

[Jay]

"The modern theatre mustn't be judged by its success in satisfying the audience's habits but by its success in transforming them. It needs to be questioned not about its degree of conformity with the 'eternal laws of the theatre' but about its ability to master the rules governing the great social processes of our age; not about whether it manages to interest the spectator in buying a ticket — i.e. in the theatre itself — but about whether it manages to interest him in the world."
~ Bertolt Brecht

[Mark Ludmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful introduction to acting in and directing Brecht, covering the main elements of his theatrical style and discussing how these can be applied to modern productions. As the author, a theatre director, admits, it is a brief, superficial overview but it draws on much of Brecht’s own writings on theatre. It is short on references and full citations, relying mostly on the author’s own views of Brecht.

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an enjoyable read, and quite effective in demonstrating the reach of Brecht's influence on modern theatre, as playwright, director, and theorist of the theatre - with demonstrations of specific aspects of Brecht's approach using the author's own directorial work for practical examples and some ensemble exercises that seem fun and useful - I'd use some of these in my own classes - developed with the assistance of an acting professor who admits to struggling with Brechtian theory as an actor. It's not a fawning book, not does it sanctify its subject, but it appreciates Brecht without being afraid to argue with him. I don't know that I would describe this as a "toolkit," but it's a book that will enrich my theatre practice and perhaps yours.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly clear insight into Brechts life and work. Perfect for those studying acting or teaching it!