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Chapter 23 - Brecht and Feminism

from Part III - The World’s Brecht

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2021

By
Helen Fehervary
Edited by
Stephen Brockmann
Stephen Brockmann
Affiliation:
Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania
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Summary

This essay focuses on Brecht’s commitment to women’s emancipation on the basis of his interest in the writings and activism of Marx, Engels, Bebel, Lenin, Clara Zetkin, and Rosa Luxemburg; his collaborative work over the years with numerous women writers and theater practitioners; and his ability as a playwright to create some of the most intriguing female characters in the history of theater. The essay goes on to examine Brecht’s reception by feminist theater critics and practitioners, to provide a summary of productions of his plays with leading women actors in the US and the UK, and to discuss two productions set in Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda) based on Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children.

Keywords

women theater actorswomen theater directorsfemale characters in dramafeminist theaterBrecht’s collaborations with womenMother Courage and Her ChildrenRose MbowaMaama Nalukalala N’dezze Lye’Lynn NottageRuined
Type
Chapter
Information
Bertolt Brecht in Context , pp. 201 - 207
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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