I don't remember it much, but it's about Galileo's persecution from the mighty Catholic Church of the time, unless I'm mistaken. I've seen and read other of Brecht's stuff, Mother Courage and Umberto Ui. His style is inimitable. To me that is what contemporary theatre should be all about. It ius a great shame there's no one in his calibre any more to speak for the masses.
To the uninitiated, Brech's theatre of alienation(correct me if I'm wrong) might seem a bit vague to fully grasp. Though I understood Unberto Ui as a parody of Hitler, I only appreciated the clarity of the work when I saw an actor called Antony Sher play the lead role at The National in London. I missed out when they showed Brecht's Galileo, but I heard it was a striking presentation. I also remember that the music in the performance sounded as if it was off-key, and yet it suited the play. I learned in theatre studies that it had something to do with Kurt Weil(I think), a friend of Bertold's, and it was all part of this alienation effect. It definately makes a change to soppy theatre, because he gives you something to think about. Beats the Matrix any day.
Sorry, had no time to post on this one recently. I think I know what you mean by theatre of alienation, yet I don't know it's English term, just as I also put up "Life of Galilei" instead of "Galileo"... well. Difficult. The alienation which is in Galileo is mainly the song which link and interlude. I don't really think that this is really vague. It was quite clear and put up directly the subject of itself.
I'd have to see it in production to envisage it, but for definate Brecht was in a class of his own. There were many innovators of theatre in the 20thC amongst them Eunescu, Beckett, Pinter, and Berkoff. Obviously, I don't expect everyone to agree with my list and there are others that I could have included, Stoppard for example. But out of all of them, Brecht has my most outstanding respect for having the courage to stand for equality. His visions are to say the least inspiring. I wish I could put more words to it, but then again, that's the magic of the man. Sadly, I feel that his was a lost, but noble cause as we slowly move on from "The Age of Information" to "The Age of Indifference".
Is strongly putting me into fear and despair. There are things around such as: "Protest is no use" "There is no truth, it's only stories" Which are wicked. They are also threatening civil rights and finally life by putting an alibi to the obvious wrong of being indifferent. This is so frightening.
Brecht was one of the greats.A true literary genius. I love his work. I've read but not seen 'Galileo'. The most memorable production of a play of his I've seen was 'Baal', with David Bowie in the title role, in a UK tv production from the 80s. Brechts poetry and novels - esp 'Threpenny Novel' are also well worth checking out. Though some of the Marxist sentiment may seem a little dated, it's still quite relevant to-day up to a point.
I would have thought that it would have been even more relevant in the world we live today with the odds stacked against us. Arturo Ui (Hitler) burned down the Reichstag (the German Parliament) to get what he wanted: power and then he blamed it on communist activists. Can we really be sure that the terrorists brought down the towers? There are questions that have not been answered and never will. The easiest option is to file every accusation made against the US government and his lapdog in England as conspiracy theories. They may even get the odd satirist to ridicule these accusations by making fun of them and thereby straying the population's focus away from dark matters that are overshadowing them. Worst comes to the worst, they always have another choice. You know the type I mean. For example, you could be a simple Brazilian getting on the train to work when suddenly you get stopped by the police and they empty 5 bullets in your face. Or you could be a minister who has seen and heard too much and suddenly you have a heart attack. In fact, make that 2 ministers. We, as people, may never win against the greed and ambition of our shepherds, but as we become indifferent, so we become the sheep, cattle and chickens that they behold us to be.
I only meant really that the Soviet model is not that relevant now. But I think marx's social critique is just as valid to-day. The underlying issues are as you say, perhaps even more relevant. But just to add to that - I think Brecht's broad support for the Soviets was very much a function of his times, and his anti-nazi position.
It may well be that he had little choice. You give a good distinction between the Soviet model and the Marxist social decree, by the way. We're told that we live in a democracy, but the evidence around us shows that we have failed in our system as surely as did the Russians. Trouble is with most people that can't face disaster, they don't realize what they're facing 'till the tide is on their doorstep. Whilst the rich grow fatter on capitalism, we're satiated as long as we're thrown a bone from their meal. So, what happens as the fuel reserves are starting to dwinde? Perhaps I'm sidetracking a bit, or even extending some ideas, but isn't the essence of Brecht a forewarning to mankind? One that we casually choose to ignore amongst many other alarm bells?
Yes, I agree that we can learn a lot from Brecht. And I am in agreement too with your other points. Brecht was ahead of his time in many ways, his theatre was really a front line in the battle for the future, for the Human future. And that's something else I get strongly from Brecht - his sheer humanity and deep insight into life and human nature. I recently mentioned him to a friend, a young american lady who is well read and has studied literature. She'd never heard of him. That's because I suppose, in the US Brecht's marxism would put him off the curiculum in schools. Which, given the scale of Brecht's literary genius - he's the only writer I've ever heard seriously compared to Shakespeare - is an outrage.
Though I've met some lovely, bright people in this forum who are from America, and a few donuts as well, it will be nice to hear their side of things. Perhaps, due to the old cold war, people on both sides of the fence have been deliberately blinkered to certain ideologies that might cause embarassment and counter-propaganda in their country. But since the iron curtain fell, there really shouldn't be any more need for animosity. If anything, we can learn something, even from failed political systems . It will also be interesting to hear some views from Eastern Europe on the subject matter. To help those who may want to get a quick glimpse of what Brecht is about try www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc15.htm Most pages I searched were in German, but I don't think I'll have to tell a German who Bertold Brecht was, much as they wouldn't have to tell me who Sophocles was.
