Biography
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), born in Augsburg, is the most internationally influential German dramatist of the twentieth century and the founder of epic theatre. His early plays Baal, Trommeln in der Nacht, and Im Dickicht der Städte established his provocative voice in Weimar Berlin. The commercial breakthrough came with Die Dreigroschenoper (1928), composed with Kurt Weill. Forced into exile by the Nazis in 1933, Brecht composed his mature masterworks in Scandinavia and the United States: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder, Leben des Galilei, Der gute Mensch von Sezuan, Herr Puntila und sein Knecht Matti, Der kaukasische Kreidekreis. After appearing before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, Brecht returned to East Berlin in 1949 and founded the Berliner Ensemble with his wife, the actress Helene Weigel. His theoretical writings on the Verfremdungseffekt (alienation effect) transformed theatrical practice worldwide.
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