Brecht Studies Stanislavski: Just a Tactical Move?

Abstract

In the 'fifties Brecht undertook an examination of Stanislavski's theatre which in terms of breadth and intensity was unprecedented in his career – and rehearsal documentation from that period testifies that he incorporated some of Stanislavski's methods into the stage practice of the Berliner Ensemble. The seriousness of his study is attested by the organized collection of notes on the production of Katzgraben recently discovered in Elizabeth Hauptmann's estate. Brecht's preoccupation with Stanislavski at this time has been seen as an attempt to protect his theatre's existence in an environment where Stanislavski, socialist realism, and the communist cause were regarded as interlinked. In this paper, Meg Mumford, recently appointed to a lectureship in theatre in the University of Glasgow, outlines the nature of Brecht's study of Stanislavski, and draws upon the records of the ensuing theatre practice, the Katzgraben notes in particular, to illuminate Brecht's growing recognition of affinities with Stanislavski's methods, which he found useful in fostering the young Berliner Ensemble and in creating performances he viewed as appropriate to audiences in the GDR.

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