Brecht - University of Chicago Press

 University of Chicago Press, 1981, hardcover, index, 235 pages, condition: as new.

The guiding principle of this book is Brecht's own claim that 'it's not the play but the performance that is the real purpose of all one's efforts'. Like so many of his statements, though, it is deceptively simple - a fact which helps to explain why his reputation is still as subject to controversy, and his plays and dramatic theories to misconception as they have always been. Jan Needle and Peter Thomson, authors familiar with the practice of play writing, producing and analysis, here put the controversy into perspective by considering together Brecht's plays, his theoretical writings and the performances he directed.