Theatre Review

As metioned last night, I went to see Bertolt Brecht's 'Fear and Misery of the Third Reich'. For a school production this isn't a light hearted piece, but I am delighted I was able to see it - it was fantastic.

Brecht's theatre is based around the idea that you shouldn't be involved with what is happening. The people on stage are actors, and you shouldn't feel emotionally for them: they are simply acting. To keep this emotional link severed, few effects are used. If a phone is ringing, it is enough for someone to tell you that it is; if people are working class then someone telling you at the start of the scene is all that is required: they don't need to dress in a particular way.

The play is a collection of 27 scenes which aren't related to one another in the usual play sense. It is the theme that carries through, and it looks at the perception of the people towards Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1938. Each scene shows a different set of people in a different set of circumstances and explores the feelings towards the regime and the effect that it had on everyday people.

You never saw the same character twice, and this did a lot to disguise the fact that there were 35 students in the class. Of this cast consisting of 17 and 18 year olds, the standard was amazing. Whilst there were a couple of weaker performers, I would say that at least 25 of the cast gave outstanding performances. You don't expect to be connected emotionally with Brecht, but the actors made you understand and realise exactly the fear (and misery) that was experienced. Two scenes stood out: the first looking at the fears of two parents that their son would betray them to the Hitler Youth; the second a mother and daughter talking about new shoes. The second scene sounds nothing exciting, but it was the standard of the acting that grabbed me. We sat and watched, for over a minute, the mother peel potatoes and the daughter do her homework. It was amazing. The daughter was engrossed in her work, and I was engrossed watching her.

The casting seemed basically perfect. With the exception of a slightly camp SS Man and some casting where I know that it would have made more sense to use someone else, every performance was top class. I just remember at the end seeing one actress and thinking 'why wasn't she in it more?'.

My only complaints? In a Brecht production, why did we need tea in the tea pot? And why did the radio need to be on at the end? I would have been happy if I had been told 'a radio is playing in the backgroud' with an explanation of what was on it (which was relevant).

This was a first class production, regardless of the age of the actors in it. I haven't been to the theatre in a long time, and I really need to go more. The De Aston school drama department have done a fine job.

technorati tags: theatre, review, brecht, fear and misery of the third reich, de aston