Bertolt Brecht

Born 1898 and died in 1956

Brecht's attitude to theatre was to take nothing for granted he wanted the audeince to ask question and think about why are these things happening in his plays. He wanted people to examine life and society through his plays. 

Some of his most famous works are:

• Trommeln in der Nacht (Drums in the Night; 1918),
• Mann ist Mann (Man is Man; 1924-5)
• Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera; 1928)
• Mahagonny (The Rise and Fall of the Town of Mahagonny; 1928-9).

The plays are funny, in a rather bleak and cynical way, and present social and political questions.Technically, the plays are (for their time) innovative: the convention of the fourth wall is rejected, stories are improbable, settings exotic, songs serve as commentary on the action in the play.