Brecht's Influence on the Modern British Theater with a Special Focus on Edward Bond's The War Plays

This thesis traces the development and impact of Brecht's dramatic art on the modem British theatre. The first chapter discusses and defines the main themes and dramaturgical concepts that characterize Brechtian theatre. The second chapter describes Brecht's reception in England. It articulates the relationship between Brecht and the British theatre since it began in 1933 when Brecht's play Anna Anna (later called The Seven Deadly Sins) was performed at the Savoy Theatre. This chapter also demonstrates the kinds of changes Brecht introduced into British dramatic art, using key British playwrights as examples--John Arden, Howard Brenton, and Caryl Churchill. The Brechtian legacy to contemporary British drama provided playwrights with stimulating ideas and models of dramaturgy. The final two chapters focus on Edward Bond--a major British political dramatist who best reflects Brecht's influence on the modem British theatre. Chapter Three demonstrates how Edward Bond has extended Brecht's Epic Theatre, adapting and updating it to fit contemporary social conditions that were different from those affecting Brecht's approach. The last plays Bond wrote are a trilogy entitled The War Plays (1985). Since almost no critical work exists on Brecht's influence on Bond's The War Plays, Chapter Four of the thesis is devoted to a critical discussion of the different Brechtian elements in these plays. Finally, the conclusion shows that Brecht has played a crucial role in the direction taken by the British theatre in general and Edward Bond in particular.