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Shakespeare and Brecht

A Practical Guide for Actors, Directors, Students and Teachers
Brief Description
This practical guide uncovers the roots of Brecht’s lifelong obsession with Shakespeare and makes the case for reading the two together today. By connecting these two great playwrights, Stephen Unwin imagines new possibilities for Brechtian productions of Shakespeare and outlines practical suggestions for how to stage... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3299
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The first practical guide to exploring Shakespeare and Brecht together with a view to expanding staging and performing possibilities.

The first practical guide to exploring Shakespeare and Brecht together with a view to expanding staging and performing possibilities.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

This practical guide uncovers the roots of Brecht’s lifelong obsession with Shakespeare and makes the case for reading the two together today. By connecting these two great playwrights, Stephen Unwin imagines new possibilities for Brechtian productions of Shakespeare and outlines practical suggestions for how to stage such productions.

Drawing on directing and performance experience in over 60 productions, Unwin’s knowledge of Brecht provides students, teachers, and practitioners with practical exercises for use in the classroom and rehearsal room. The book charts a chronology of Brecht’s engagement with Shakespeare before delving into his core theories and practices which detail a Brechtian approach to reading, performing and staging Shakespeare that is still pertinent today.

Unwin also provides an in-depth look at five of Shakespeare’s plays through Brecht’s own words and imagines a Brechtian staging for them. In simple, non-theoretical language, Shakespeare and Brecht reveals how Brecht can help us understand Shakespeare, but also how an understanding of Shakespeare can help explain Brecht for a new chapter of Brechtian Shakespeare in the 21st century.

Series: Arden Performance Companions

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781350419612

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 30 October 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: The Arden Shakespeare

Audience: Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 138.0mm

Height: 214.0mm

Weight: 280g

Pages: 224

About the Author

Stephen Unwin is a theatre and opera director who founded the English Touring Theatre in 1993 and opened the Rose Theatre, Kingston in 2008. He has staged over sixty professional productions, ten of which were plays by Shakespeare and three by Brecht.

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