Theater

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre World Encyclopedia Further reading

Epic Theatre

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre | 1996 | | Copyright

Epic Theatre, phrase taken from Aristotle, where it implies a series of incidents presented without regard to theatrical conventions, and used in the 1920s by such pioneers as Brecht and Piscator of episodic productions designed to appeal more to the audience's reason than to its emotions, thus excluding sympathy and identification. (See also ALIENATION.) It employs a multi-level narrative technique and places the main emphasis on the social and political background of the play. Typical of epic theatre were the several productions by Piscator of a dramatized version of Tolstoy's novel War and Peace.

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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Epic Theatre." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Epic Theatre." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-EpicTheatre.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Epic Theatre." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-EpicTheatre.html

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epic theatre

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

epic theatre Theory of dramatic presentation formulated in the late 1920s by Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator. Attempting to undermine theatrical illusion by distancing effects in the use of costume, sets, songs, argument, and self-concious soliloquies, the audience is meant to view events objectively and critically.

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"epic theatre." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"epic theatre." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-epictheatre.html

"epic theatre." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-epictheatre.html

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