Brecht and Grotowski, a practical exploration

This pack introduces drama students to the theatre practitioners Bertolt Brecht and Jerzy Grotowski. Students will develop a practical understanding of the ideas of Brecht and Grotowski through the exercises here, in addition to refining their own ideas about the nature of theatre.

Brecht and Grotowski developed forms of theatre that urged a response from the spectator: Brecht encouraged the spectator to take political action to change society whereas Grotowski wished to induce psychological change on an individual level. Brecht spent much of his adult life in exile from Germany during the Nazi period (1933-1945). Grotowski grew up in a Poland first occupied by the Nazis, then dominated by the Soviet Union, where free speech was highly restricted. In response to these politically charged times, both practitioners chose to use a montage scene structure in which episodes are cleverly juxtaposed to create the maximum shock. Brecht and Grotowski were influenced by the moral message and the stylized movement of Japanese Noh Theatre and this is considered in detail through practical tasks.

Through the exercises in this resource, students will gain a detailed knowledge of the philosophy of the two practitioners. The following areas will be explored in detail: how the audience is affected by the performance, how to stage a play and the role of the performer.

Students will be encouraged to refine and develop their own theatre practice by means of regular reflection exercises that will serve to organise their thoughts, while also proving a record of the learning experience when it comes to exam revision. Knowledge and subject specific vocabulary will be expanded in preparation for the written exam. As well as considering the value of the work of Brecht and Grotowski, students will appraise their own work in progress and in performance, increasing their maturity as thinking performers.