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Unless you're into didacticism (sp?), stay away from the Lehrstücke, or Didactic or Learning Plays. They're not much for entertainment value while reading; on the other hand, they're a great introduction to his Epic Theatre. The idea behind these plays was that ordinary citizens should be able to play them, switch roles around, and discuss the arguments. They were vehicles for discussion, meant to combine entertainment and education, and really interesting ones at that. Particularly if you find communism interesting.
Mother Courage is a good bet. I've never read Threepenny Opera, but people keep doing it, so it can't suck. I'd also really recommend Galileo Galilei, The Mother, The Caucasian Chalk Circle. My personal favourite is The Good Person of Schezwan, but scan the translation before you buy - there are a couple that are downright stupid - translating "shit" into "dung" for etiquette purposes and the like. One of the best theatre pieces I've ever seen is a video of Strehler's production of that play. It's fabulous. And even has a deus ex machina.
Reading Brecht, the text can seem really stifled and humourless. But there are great, wickedly funny productions of his plays, because (IMHO) the challenge for the actors and director is to create the circumstances for every line to be necessary. I find reading it out loud (while pretending to convince someone else) helps. But then again, I talk to my bicycle, too. |
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