#THIS IS LONDON PHILIP PROWSE PDF FULL#

For example, Marxist philosophy is fundamental to Brecht’s dramaturgical exploration of the relationship between the individual and society.

#THIS IS LONDON PHILIP PROWSE PDF FULL#

Certainly many theatre critics and historians would agree that without a knowledge of Marxist philosophy and aesthetics, it is virtually impossible to grasp the full meaning of Brecht’s plays. He would admit, however, that in order for epic theatre to work fully, the actors involved in the production needed to share a Marxist view of the world. Brecht often spoke of his form of theatre as one designed to make a contribution to ‘the full unfettering of everybody’s productivity’ (Suvin, 1984, p.20). His ‘epic theatre’ was based on the concept of the primary importance of production in social life and it was intended to demonstrate socialism as the constant revolutionising of the forces and relations within the processes of production. As he said, he ‘had written a whole pile of Marxist plays without knowing it’ (Völker, 1979, p. Brecht’s ‘discovery’ of Marxism (in 1928/9) confirmed his already well-developed idea that theatre should have a social function. Brecht’s commitment to the classic Marxist tradition of ‘dialectical materialism’ (the idea that the individual is created by socio-political and economic factors and is, therefore, able to change his circumstances and environment) provided a ‘legitimacy’ (in his view at least) for an interventionist form of theatre.

Since Brecht’s ideology has so often been a barrier to a full appreciation of his work in Britain, and consequently appears regularly in this book, it is worth briefly spelling out here the basis and implications of his political beliefs. Furthermore, he was a Marxist and thus his ideas were (and are) unlikely to be suited to the mainly bourgeois institution of British theatre and theatregoers.

Chapter | 1 pages was seen (as he often still is) as characteristically ‘heavy’, boring and lacking in a sense of humour, or at least irony – in fact the kind of playwright he himself deplored in his own, rational theatre.

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