Brecht's role in contemporary theater

Nick Cohen had a deeply challenging proclamation against Brecht's role in the current theatrical world in today's London Observer (the paper, that, of course, made famous this blog's Brecht-loving Marxist namesake). He raises some very valid criticisms, including Brecht's complacency in Stalinism, wavering opposition to fascism, and most importantly, the inescapable influence of politics in his dramatic theory. Cohen depicts Brecht as complicit in Communist genocide in both Russia and China, and places the blame squarely on modern audiences for overlooking that side of Brecht.

It's a fair argument, but I would contend that Cohen misjudges Brecht's role in contemporary theater as still being absolute acceptance. Yes, Brecht's plays are still being frequently revived, and his dramatic theory is still one of the dominant dramatic theories of our time. But it is not the only theory of our time, as those who think seriously about politics and theater do take into account the totalitarian side of his politics.

For me, the key to Brecht in an unabashedly capitalist society is more his view of the alienation effect than his socioeconomic theory. More than anything else, Brecht's main opponent was complacency, his hatred of what he called "culinary" theatre whose ideology was loose, floozy life maxims over directed social points. What Brecht wanted was to get people out of their comfort zones, to make them think about an issue in a new way, to change minds more than society. True, he saw this as a necessary product of a larger Communist revolution, but by no means do we have to take everything he says verbatim.

Part of the problem has been the modern interpretation of Brecht primarily as a style--in dramatic structure, dialog, costume, etc.--as opposed his general intellectual approach to theater. Audiences expecting a "Brechtian kind of play" are suffering from the exact same complacency that Brecht tried to abolish. In reality, he touched upon a universal ability of theater to make us think and to influence the audience member's mind. This side of theater has been prominent in just about every dramatic theory, including the fascist-sympathizing Italian Futurists, who had the polar opposite of Brecht's politics. The fight against complacency has been Brecht's most enduring influence, and you can see traces of it through the Angry Young Man, the punks, the hoodies, and just about any other incendiary form of entertainment. I say this as complete devotee to capitalism.