Brecht and epic theatre, including the alienation effect, gestus, episodic structure, direct address, placards and song, and how these devices encourage an audience to think critically rather than become emotionally absorbed.

What this dot point is asking

AQA wants you to understand Bertolt Brecht's epic theatre and its political purpose, so you can explain his devices and apply them when devising in his style to make an audience think rather than simply feel.

The political purpose

Brecht wanted theatre to be a tool for social change. Writing in response to the upheavals of early twentieth-century Germany, he rejected what he called "dramatic" theatre, which sweeps the audience into the emotions of the hero, in favour of "epic" theatre, which keeps spectators as critical observers. The audience should question what they see, recognise that society is made by people and can therefore be changed, and leave wanting to act, not purged of feeling.

The alienation effect

The alienation effect (Verfremdungseffekt, or A-effect) makes the familiar strange. By presenting everyday social situations as if they were odd and in need of explanation, Brecht stops the audience accepting the world as natural and inevitable. The constant reminders that they are watching a constructed performance keep them critical rather than empathetic, so they analyse the social forces at work instead of losing themselves in a character's feelings.

Key devices

• Gestus. A clear physical gesture, attitude or stance that distils a character's social position and the social point of a moment, making power relations visible.
• Episodic structure. Self-contained scenes, often with their outcome announced in advance, so the audience judges each episode rather than being carried by suspense.
• Direct address and narration. Actors speak to the audience or narrate the action, breaking the fourth wall and inviting judgement.
• Placards, captions, projections and song. Signs and titles announcing events and songs that interrupt and comment on the action, breaking immersion.
• Multi-role and visible theatricality. Actors play several parts, and costume, set and lighting changes are made in full view, exposing the mechanics of theatre so nothing is mistaken for reality.
• Spass. Brecht still wanted entertainment and fun; the critical purpose did not mean a joyless evening.

Brecht against Stanislavski

It helps to define epic theatre by contrast. Where Stanislavski's naturalism asks the actor to become the character and the audience to empathise behind a fourth wall, Brecht asks the actor to demonstrate the character, often referring to them in the third person in rehearsal, and the audience to judge rather than feel. The two are the poles of the practitioner work in Component 2, and a strong answer can use the contrast to sharpen its account of either.

Applying Brecht in practice

When devising in his style, build episodic scenes with their outcomes flagged, use direct address, placards and song to interrupt and comment, develop clear gestus that exposes social attitudes, use multi-role and visible changes, and keep a sense of spass, always to provoke thought about a specific social issue and a desire for change.