39 I am using Miller’s play by way of example. But Miller obviously had some contemporary political
targets in mind when he wroteThe Crucible.
40 Brecht (1964: 187); see also (1964: 27, 44).
41 The meaning of some of Brecht’s preferred terms for his theatrical practice changed over time, as
did the terms themselves, as did the practice itself. What I offer is an overview of what I take to
be the most central and long-standing elements. No doubt that this account is simplified. Bradley
(2006), for example, carefully traces how his theory and practice changed in relation to one play
(The Mother).
42 Note that Brecht doesn’t think that peoplereallyget confused between the actor and the
character; he just thinks that character–actor identity is a kind of ideal in‘Aristotelian’drama.
43 The first time I taught Brecht, I began by asking what made something‘epic’. The two answers
I got were: it has to be‘really long’and‘awesome’.
44 Brecht (1964: 44–5).
45 The essay is called‘The Street Scene: A Basic Model for an Epic Theatre’; see Brecht (1964: 121–9).
46 Brecht (1964: 125–6).
47 Brecht (1964: 58).
48 See, e.g., Brecht (1964: 67, 184).
49 See Brecht (1966: 136).
50 Brecht (1966: 137).
51 See in particular his‘Short Organum for the Theatre’, sections 16–23, reprinted in Brecht (1964).
52 See Brecht (1964: 67, 121). Hegel’s view, roughly, was that art could no longer perform the
function of representing, explaining and embodying this kind of information and thus it has
become, in an important sense, obsolete.
53 Brecht (1964: 70–71).
54 See Plato’sIon, in which Socrates converses with a rhapsode.
55 Brecht (1964: 196).
56 See, e.g., Adorno (1980). Partly, of course, such criticisms come from Adorno’s own Marxist
views, which were even more idiosyncratic than Brecht’s.
57 For how they might: Hamilton (2007: 44–5). Mumford (2009: 130–65) offers practical‘Brechtian’
exercises.
58 See e.g. Brecht (1964: 243). For accounts and discussions of Brechtian practice, based on the
experience of actors, see Benedetti (2005: 183–220) and Eddershaw (1994).
59 Quoted in Brecht (1964: 61).
60 Elsom (1992: 38).
61 Bentley (2008: 10).
62 For a selection of essays on particular plays, see Sacks and Thomson (1994).
63 E.g. Brecht (1964: 145, 227).
64 What Brecht demanded from his actors seems to have changed over time, as one would expect
from an experimental theatre practitioner. But it’s clear that actors, like spectators, were per-
mitted or even encouraged to engage emotionally with the characters and plot as part of their
preparation for the role. See Rouse (1995) for discussion.192 From the Stage to the World