Brecht's Breadshop

Project Summary

Bertolt Brecht is a towering figure of European modernism. Nonetheless, many aspects of his work, despite its often acute relevance to our own society, are relatively unknown. The period around 1929 was an exceptionally productive and experimental one for him, as playwright, poet and theorist. Above all he began to develop new dramatic forms in order to address the social and economic turmoil he witnessed around him. One unfinished experiment from these years, The Breadshop, is revealed as acutely relevant to today’s experience in an ever-expanding and increasingly precarious gig economy and a labour market without a social net. We will explore the piece in a series of workshops with an ethnically diverse group of young theatre-engaged people, many of them from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. Through the work they will learn about the different aspects of Brecht’s socially engaged theatre in a stimulating live performance format, as well as, more generally, about the practice of the theatre and about the ways in which theatre work can be socially productive. The workshops will culminate in site-specific public performances in a bakery in Hackney.

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