‘Brecht in Practice’: Critical Reflections on Staging Drama Dialectically

TY - JOUR

T1 - ‘Brecht in Practice’: Critical Reflections on Staging Drama Dialectically

AU - Barnett, David Julian

N1 - © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group, This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details

PY - 2021/9/17

Y1 - 2021/9/17

N2 - This article reflects critically on the AHRC-funded ‘Brecht in Practice: Staging Drama Dialectically’, a practice-as-research project. It draws on material provided by a production of Patrick Marber’s Closer (2016) and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (2017) as a way of setting out a critical method for staging realistic drama. In both cases, Brechtian stagings were able to identify unspoken politics in the plays and bring these out in a way that problematized central themes and characters without seeking to resolve the issues raised for the audience. In the course of the analysis, the arguments move from the commonalities experienced in rehearsing both productions to the specific challenges of each. The article concludes with a critical review of the strategies undertaken, highlighting the potential of such an approach while also understanding its limitations.

AB - This article reflects critically on the AHRC-funded ‘Brecht in Practice: Staging Drama Dialectically’, a practice-as-research project. It draws on material provided by a production of Patrick Marber’s Closer (2016) and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (2017) as a way of setting out a critical method for staging realistic drama. In both cases, Brechtian stagings were able to identify unspoken politics in the plays and bring these out in a way that problematized central themes and characters without seeking to resolve the issues raised for the audience. In the course of the analysis, the arguments move from the commonalities experienced in rehearsing both productions to the specific challenges of each. The article concludes with a critical review of the strategies undertaken, highlighting the potential of such an approach while also understanding its limitations.

KW - Brecht

KW - arthur miller

KW - patrick marber

KW - Political theatre

KW - dialectical theatre

KW - the crucible

KW - closer

U2 - 10.1080/10486801.2021.1928653

DO - 10.1080/10486801.2021.1928653

M3 - Article

SN - 1048-6801

VL - 31

SP - 266

EP - 285

JO - Contemporary Theatre Review

JF - Contemporary Theatre Review

IS - 3

ER -