Overview

A practical, hands-on guide - for actors, directors, teachers and students - to Brecht's theory and practice of theatre, with a full set of exercises to help put theory into practice. 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'. The book also explores the practical application of these theories in Acting, Language, Music, Design and Direction. Also included are fifty exercises contributed by Julian Jones, to help student actors investigate Brecht's ideas for themselves, becoming thoroughly familiar with the tools in the Brecht toolkit. '[a] major and brilliant achievement... exemplary clarity and concision... honour[s] the complexity of Brecht while providing a valuable addition to the literature aimed at exploring and explaining this key figure. I highly recommend this book to you' — Drama magazine 'a thorough yet crystal clear explanation of Brecht's more complicated techniques and ideas' — Teaching Drama Magazine 'one of the best introductory books on Brecht currently in circulation... Unwin [presents] the theoretical and practical ideas of Bertolt Brecht in a clear, concise and connected way so that students and practitioners may consider the importance of his work in the twenty-first century.' — A Younger Theatre

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9781854595508

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Reviews

'a useful, refreshing, no-nonsense introduction to a practitioner who can be contradictory and is often misunderstood' * The Stage * '[a] major and brilliant achievement... exemplary clarity and concision... honour[s] the complexity of Brecht while providing a valuable addition to the literature aimed at exploring and explaining this key figure. I highly recommend this book to you' * Drama magazine * 'a thorough yet crystal clear explanation of Brecht's more complicated techniques and ideas' * Teaching Drama Magazine * 'one of the best introductory books on Brecht currently in circulation... Unwin [presents] the theoretical and practical ideas of Bertolt Brecht in a clear, concise and connected way so that students and practitioners may consider the importance of his work in the twenty-first century.' * A Younger Theatre *

Author Information

Stephen Unwin is one of the UK's leading theatre and opera directors. He founded the English Touring Theatre in 1993 and opened the Rose Theatre Kingston in 2008, becoming Artistic Director until 2014. He has written guides to Shakespeare's and Brecht's plays, as well as to Ibsen, Chekhov, Strindberg, and Twentieth-Century Drama. He is also the author of The Complete Brecht Toolkit and So You Want To Be A Theatre Director? His first original play as a writer, All Our Children, was premiered at Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in 2017. He is a campaigner for the rights and opportunities of people with learning disabilities and was appointed the Chair of KIDS in November 2016, the national charity providing services to disabled children, young people and their families.

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