The Development of Brecht's Theory of the Epic Theatre, 1918-1933

The theatre of today has been significantly changed because of Brecht's influential work as a playwright, producer, and theoretician. In fact, anyone working in the theatre of today must come to grips with the phenomenon that is Bertolt Brecht. True, such an undertaking will be difficult. Brecht's achievements—literary, theoretical, and practical—are all parts of a whole which is not understandable if one part of it is examined by itself. Furthermore, as he wrote in his poem “Behauptung,” Brecht by no means “always remained the same“; both the man and his views changed. For this reason an investigation of the development of Brecht's theatrical theories apart from the rest of his work is a questionable undertaking. There are, however, two justifications for it: 1) So far nothing coherent about Brecht's early ideas concerning the theatre has been written.