Critical Detachment and Emotional Confrontation: Bertolt Brecht’s Verfremdungseffekt vs. Edward Bond’s Aggro-Effect

Two renowned playwrights from different geographical and historical contexts, Bertolt Brecht and Edward Bond, are frequently discussed under the umbrella of epic theatre. Composing his epic drama in the 1920s, Brecht intends to convey his social critique through his unorthodox theatrical techniques by provoking his audience to contemplate the status quo. Notably through the Verfremdungseffekt, known also as “estrangement effect” or “alienation effect”, he wants to disturb his audiences’ intellect to make them aware of the crux of the status quo through a Marxist lens. However, Edward Bond, whose direct encounter with Brecht’s epic theatre corresponds to the Berliner Ensemble’s 1956 London visit, explores post-World War II English society and violence, and keeps his audience active and alert. While Bond has been clearly influenced by Brecht’s epic drama and its concentration on social critique, he differs from his method by establishing the Aggro-effect to generate a more immediate and emotionally charged impact. Brecht intends to engender a critical detachment, whereas Bond evokes a stronger, more personal reaction. This study aims to scrutinize the fundamentally different theatrical techniques, Brecht’s “V-Effekt” and Bond’s “Aggro-effect”, used by the two playwrights in pursuit of a shared goal: to promote social awareness and change. By elaborating on Brecht’s The Good Person of Setzuan (1938–1941) and Bond’s Saved (1965) this article argues that Bond’s Aggro-effect humanizes Brechtian rational Verfremdungseffekt, exchanging rational distance for emotional immediacy to oppose to modern apathy. In doing so, the paper will reveal how socio-political anxieties of an era fundamentally shape the tools playwrights devise to provoke change.