|
Showing 1 - 3 of
3 matches in All Departments
"One of the greatest poets and dramatists of our century"
(Observer) Brecht's Lehrstucke or short 'didactic' pieces written
during the years 1929 to 1933, are some of his most experimental
work. Rejecting conventional theatre, they are spare and highly
formalised, drawing on traditional Japanese and Chinese theatre.
They show Brecht in collaboration with the composers Hindemith,
Weill and Eisler, influenced by the new techniques of montage in
the visual arts and seeking new means of expression. Brecht
intended them for performance by schools, workers' groups and
choral societies rather than by professionals, with the idea that
the moral and political lessons contained in them are best conveyed
by participating in an actual production. In addition to the
Lehrstucke, the volume contains The Mother, a longer play, again
with music by Eisler, based on the novel by Gorky. A story of
dawning political consciousness, told with irony and narrative
drive, its central character is one of Brecht's great female roles.
The original production starred Brecht's wife Helene Weigel and
Brecht was buried with the red flag that was a prop in the
production.
The most comprehensive and authoritative editions of Brecht's plays
in the English language Volume Three of Brecht's Collected Plays
includes St Joan of the Stockyards - a play which recasts St Joan
as Joan Dark springing hope into the hearts of factory workers at
the mercy of meatpacker king Pierpont Mauler threatening cuts in
the Depression; and the Lehrstucke or short 'didactic' pieces
written during the years 1929 to 1933, are some of his most
experimental work. Lindbergh's Flight, The Baden-Baden Lesson on
Consent, He Said Yes / He Said No, The Decision,The Exception and
the Rule, and The Horatians and the Curiatians reject conventional
theatre; they are spare and highly formalised, drawing on
traditional Japanese and Chinese forms. They show Brecht in
collaboration with the composers Hindemith, Weill and Eisler,
influenced by the new techniques of montage in the visual arts and
seeking new means of expression. Also included is The Mother, based
on Gorky's novel about the progress of a factory strike in Tver and
the journey of a peasant mother from illiteracy to card-carrying
communism.The translators include H R Hays (The Horatians and the
Curiatians), Ralph Manheim (St Joan of the Stockyards), Tom Osborn
(The Exception and the Rule), Geoffrey Skelton (The Baden-Baden
Lesson on Consent), John Willett (Lindbergh's Flight;The
Decision;The Mother) and Arthur Waley (He Said Yes / He Said No).
The translations are ideal for both study and performance. The
volume is accompanied by a full introduction and notes by the
series editor John Willett and includes Brecht's own notes and
relevant texts as well as all the important textual variants.
|
You may like...
Love Songs
Various Artists
CD
R114
Discovery Miles 1 140
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R383
R318
Discovery Miles 3 180
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R383
R318
Discovery Miles 3 180
|