Brechtian political theatre

Techniques:

-breaking the fourth wall, making the audience directly conscious of the fact that they are watching a play.

-narrator is a big part of Brechtian theatre.

-use of song or music.

-use of signs and placards.

The absence of empathy developed into a concept of theatre that's called Epic theatre, as opposed to what Brecht referred to as Dramatic theatre. Dramatic theatre has a plot or story. We go to the theatre expecting the plot to be laid out before us and all issues to be resolved at the end. Epic theatre doesn't attempt this neatness. The problems in Brechtian theatre are often not resolved; this helps him to get people thinking about the intent of this piece of theatre which is always political. 

What were Brecht's main ideas? He wanted the audience to be objective and unemotional during his plays. This meant he avoided melodrama and escapist narratives. Instead, he addressed political themes and used techniques to distance the audience from the play. His most acclaimed plays include Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and Her Children, The Threepenny Opera, and The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

He wanted his theatre to 'spark an interest in his audiences' perception of the world'. He did not want his audiences to sit passively and get lost in a show's story, but to make them think and question the world they live in. As he began to write plays of his own, he discovered that the theatre was the perfect forum to express social and political criticism; he could write about controversial things and criticise the government in a safe environment without being persecuted for his work. He considered theatre to be a tool for social change and a means to awaken audiences' consciousness and inspire them to take action.

David Edgar was someone who influenced Brecht especially with how political his plays tented to be. In Brecht's childhood he lived in Germany during the period of the 1st world war. However he then left to live in Switzerland where he wrote political plays away from the persecution of the German government.