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"Can theatre change the world? If so, how can it productively connect with social reality and foster spectatorial critique and engagement? This book examines the forms and functions of political drama in what has been described as a post-Marxist, post-ideological, even post-political moment. It argues that Bertolt Brecht's concept of dialectical theatre represents a privileged theoretical and dramaturgical method on the contemporary British stage as well as a valuable lens for understanding 21st-century theatre in Britain. Establishing a creative philosophical dialogue between Brecht, Walter Benjamin, Theodor W. Adorno and Jacques Rancière, the study analyses seminal works by five influential contemporary playwrights, ranging from Mark Ravenhill's 'in-yer-face' plays to Caryl Churchill's 21st century theatrical experiments. Engaging critically with Brecht's theatrical legacy, these plays create a politically progressive form of drama which emphasises notions of negativity, ambivalence and conflict as a prerequisite for spectatorial engagement and emancipation. This book adopts an interdisciplinary and intercultural theoretical approach, reuniting English and German perspectives and innovatively weaving together a variety of theoretical strands to offer fresh insights on Brecht's legacy, on British theatre history and on the selected plays"--Abstract.

Theater --- Theatre History and Criticism --- Drama & Performance Studies --- European Theatre --- History --- Brecht, Bertolt, --- Appreciation --- Influence. --- Brecht, Berthold Friedrich --- Brecht, Bertolt. --- Brecht, Bertholt --- Brecht, Bert --- Brecht, Eugen Berthold Friedrich

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This book examines the two-way impacts between Brecht and Chinese culture and drama/theatre, focusing on Chinese theatrical productions since the end of the Cultural Revolution all the way to the first decades of the twenty-first century. Wei Zhang considers how Brecht’s plays have been adapted/appropriated by Chinese theatre artists to speak to the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural developments in China and how such endeavors reflect and result from dynamic interactions between Chinese philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics, especially as embodied in traditional xiqu and the Brechtian concepts of estrangement (Verfremdungseffekt) and political theatre. In examining these Brecht adaptations, Zhang offers an interdisciplinary study that contributes to the fields of comparative drama/theatre studies, intercultural studies, and performance studies.

Brecht, Bertolt, --- Brecht, Berthold Friedrich --- Brecht, Bertolt. --- Brecht, Bertholt --- Brecht, Bert --- Brecht, Eugen Berthold Friedrich --- Stage history. --- Comparative literature. --- Oriental literature. --- German philology. --- Literature—Translations. --- Theater. --- Ethnology—Asia. --- Comparative Literature. --- Asian Literature. --- German Literature. --- Translation Studies. --- Global/International Theatre and Performance. --- Asian Culture. --- Dramatics --- Histrionics --- Professional theater --- Stage --- Theatre --- Performing arts --- Acting --- Actors --- Germanic philology --- Asian literature --- Comparative literature --- Literature, Comparative --- Philology --- History and criticism --- European literature. --- Ethnology --- Culture. --- European Literature. --- Global and International Theatre and Performance. --- Cultural sociology --- Culture --- Sociology of culture --- Civilization --- Popular culture --- European literature --- Asia. --- Social aspects