Brecht's Mother Courage and Ionesco's the Bald Prima Donna

DRAMA STUDY

20th Century Theatre

Bertolt Brecht & Eugene Ionesco

Brecht

Context:

Born in middle-class family in Ausburg, Bavaria.

Attended uni of Munich, moved to Berlin (centre of cultural life), found work as a dramaturge at Deustaches theatre in 1924.

Withheld Marxist and anti-fascist beliefs., because of this he was forced to flee Germany with the rise of the Nazis in 1933, living exile in Scandinavia and the united states for 15 years.

Remember: Anti-capitalist (socialist), Anti-fascist <—— Very controversial playwright

MOTHER COURAGE VS CAPITALISM

“I am a playwright. I would actually liked to have been a cabinet maker but you don’t make enough money that way.” ~ Bertolt Brecht

Brecht was opposed the injustice which he believed to have seen in the capitalism. HIs quote was a satirical summery of his views on capitalism as he is claiming that the labour of crafting something with a practical purpose is less rewarding than what goes into writing a play.

He saw Capitalism = Any chance to make a profit, at any cost.

Wrote plays in response to the rising fascism in Germany in 1933 (rise of the nazis).

War = Meaningless - only good for profit - capitalism causes war.

Epic Theatre

Verfremdungseffekt - “Alienation Effect” (make strange).

Brecht wanted to connect with his audience to connect intellectually with the play while distancing themselves emotionally.

He called his plays ‘epic theatre’, a type of play which tells a story, usually historical, on a large scale, including a series of people in a series of events over a long period of time.

During Brecht’s Epic theatre, the audiences became like scientists, sitting back and observing events in a completely detached and logical way.

He wanted his audience to benefit from theatre, instead of just accepting and enjoying he wanted them to question and challenge - emphasis on his tastiest for propaganda.

Epic Theatre Techniques Include:

Narration

Direct address to the audience

placards and signs

projection

Spoiling dramatic tension in advance to scenes.

‘Historification’ - setting events in another place and/or time in order to distance the emotional impact, yet enhance the intellectual impacts for the spectator (audience).

Fragmentary props - single objects represent a larger picture (or setting)

Song - like parables in the bible, songs are used to communicate the message of the drama.

Demonstration of roles - actors are encouraged not be fully engaged in the role.

Scenes are short and are set in a series of montages.

Mother Courage

Written in the midst of the growing Nazi terror (1939), Mother Courage impel spectators

The play aims to challenge the audience’s assumptions about a variety of social institutions - war, business, motherhood and morality.

“Her Luxury Comes at the Cost of her Children”.

Messy contradictions and profane, much like war itself.

She is called Mother Courage because she risked her life during a bombardment just to sell loaves of bread.

Mother Courage herself is a contradictory character.

“War is bad, but there is money to be made in it so its better than peace.”

QUOTES

“Mother Courage: Eilif, Swiss Cheese, and Katrin, may all of us be torn apart like this if we get too mixed up in the war.”

She contradict herself, hypocrite