Overview

Routledge Performance Practitioners is a series of introductory guides to the key theatre-makers of the last century. Each volume explains the background to and the work of one of the major influences on twentieth- and twenty-first-century performance. Bertolt Brecht is amongst the world’s most profound contributors to the theory and practice of theatre. His methods of collective experimentation and his unique framing of the theatrical event as a forum for aesthetic and political change continue to have a significant impact on the work of performance practitioners, critics and teachers alike. This is the first book to combine: an overview of the key periods in Brecht's life and work a clear explanation of his key theories, including the renowned ideas of Gestus and Verfremdung an account of his groundbreaking 1954 production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle an in-depth analysis of Brecht's practical exercises and rehearsal methods As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners are unbeatable value for today’s student. Meg Mumford is a lecturer in Theatre and Performance Studies at The University of New South Wales, Australia. She has published widely on the subject of Brecht’s theatre and contemporary appropriations of his theory and practice.

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9780415375085

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Reviews

'What makes Meg Mumford's new text, Bertolt Brecht, a 'must have' - especially for secondary educators and theatre students - is that here, all these angles are concisely drawn together with an accessible tone and structure, and with pithy key points of analysis... This book exhibits depth as well as clarity... This is a thorough, informative read for theatre educators and students, and a great read in terms of an illustrated twentieth-century life story.' - M/C Reviews 'Mumford offers brilliant explanations of difficult Brechtian theoretical concepts' - Choice 'Meg Mumford covers ample ground with a sure footedness that has left this reviewer smiling with delight. A wish to demystify Brecht, to prise him out of the political or literary clutches of the jargonists, has motivated my teaching for more than thirty years, but I never managed it as effectively as this.' - Studies in Theatre Production '... Brecht's changing and contradictory writings on Gestus and Verfremdung are successfully explored within the context of her fascinating case study of the 1954 production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle ...'- New Theatre Quarterly, Tom Cantrell 'The book can be highly recommended to students new to Brecht, and also to teachers: I found the practical workshop worked brilliantly with a group of first year undergraduates in what was for many their first practical exploration of Brecht's work.'- New Theatre Quarterly, Tom Cantrell 'Bertolt Brecht, by Meg Mumford, is the nineteenth addition to the Routledge Performance Practitioners series of introductory handbooks on key twentieth century theater-makers... , the author of each volume places, or attempts to place, theory in dialogic rather than oppositional relationship to practice. Clearly, Brecht is an important and necessary addition to the series. More than a few readers will look upon Mumford's subject as seminal to the entire project. In addition, the directive to unpack and explain the vast body of material published by and about Brecht to practitioners who do not yet see themselves as thinkers, much less theorists -- and to convince them to do otherwise -- is truly daunting. ... [Mumford] does not disappoint. This is a useful book, constructed to withstand heavy use by rough hands in the interactive environment of the performance workshop or classroom.' - The Brecht Yearbook, Julie Jackson. '... Mumford's historical research, breadth of knowledge, critical scrutiny, and insightful analysis of Brecht's performance text [The Caucasian Chalk Circle] combined with the transparency of her language offer an excellent and useful model for dramaturgical research and analysis.' - The Brecht Yearbook, Julie Jackson 'Mumford achieves a rare clarity and specificity in her discussions of Gestus and Verfremdung ...' - The Brecht Yearbook, Julie Jackson

'This is a very useful volume which goes far beyond its ambit as a mere introduction. It offers novel, perceptive, and enlivening insights into the very practical concerns a student may have about Brecht without dismissing the theories as irrelevant appendages to the plays.' - Modern Language Review 'What makes Meg Mumford's new text, Bertolt Brecht, a 'must have' - especially for secondary educators and theatre students - is that here, all these angles are concisely drawn together with an accessible tone and structure, and with pithy key points of analysis... This book exhibits depth as well as clarity... This is a thorough, informative read for theatre educators and students, and a great read in terms of an illustrated twentieth-century life story.' - M/C Reviews 'Mumford offers brilliant explanations of difficult Brechtian theoretical concepts' - Choice 'Meg Mumford covers ample ground with a sure footedness that has left this reviewer smiling with delight. A wish to demystify Brecht, to prise him out of the political or literary clutches of the jargonists, has motivated my teaching for more than thirty years, but I never managed it as effectively as this.' - Studies in Theatre Production '... Brecht's changing and contradictory writings on Gestus and Verfremdung are successfully explored within the context of her fascinating case study of the 1954 production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle ...'- New Theatre Quarterly, Tom Cantrell 'The book can be highly recommended to students new to Brecht, and also to teachers: I found the practical workshop worked brilliantly with a group of first year undergraduates in what was for many their first practical exploration of Brecht's work.'- New Theatre Quarterly, Tom Cantrell 'Mumford achieves a rare clarity and specificity in her discussions of Gestus and Verfremdung ...' - The Brecht Yearbook, Julie Jackson

Author Information

Meg Mumford is Lecturer in Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of New South Wales. She has published widely on the subject of Brecht's theatre and contemporary appropriations of his theory and practice.

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