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Practitioners and theatre companies
Quick questions on Brecht and epic theatre - OCR A-Level Drama and Theatre practitioners
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the alienation effect (Verfremdung)?Show answer
The alienation effect is the deliberate distancing that stops the audience being absorbed into the illusion. By making the familiar strange and the staging visibly constructed, it keeps the audience critical and aware that what they see is a human arrangement that could be otherwise. It is the governing principle behind the other devices.
What is gestus?Show answer
Gestus is a clear, often physical action or attitude that crystallises a social relationship or a character's position in society. A servant's habitually bowed posture, a boss's expansive ease, a gesture of giving that is also a gesture of control: each shows the social truth of a moment at a glance.
What is q1?Show answer
Define the alienation effect and state its purpose. [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
What is gestus, and give an example. [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
As a director, explain how you would use Brechtian techniques to make an audience think critically about a social issue in a devised extract. [10 marks]
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