Collected Plays

Collected Plays Synopsis

Published by Methuen Drama, the collected dramatic works of Bertolt Brecht are presented in the most comprehensive and authoritative editions of Brecht's plays in the English language.

This sixth volume of Brecht's Collected Plays contains three plays he wrote while in exile during the early stages of the Second World War. In Brecht's famous parable The Good Person of Szechwan, the gods come to earth in search of a thoroughly good person. Noone can be found until they meet Shen Te, a prostitute with a heart ofgold.

Rewarded by the gods, she gives up her profession and buys atabacco shop but finds it is impossible to survive as a good person ina corrupt world without the support of her ruthless alter ego Shui Ta.

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Uiis a savage satire on the rise of Hitler, wittily transposed to gangland Chicago. Brecht's compelling parable continues to have relevance wherever totalitarianism appears today. Written in 1940 during Brecht's exile in Finland, Puntila is one of hisgreatest creations, to be ranked alongside Galileo and Mother Courage.A hard-drinking Finnish landowner, Puntila suffers from a dividedpersonality: when drunk he is human and humane; when sober, surly andself-centred. The play contains some of the best comedy Brecht wrotefor the theatre.

The translations are ideal for both study and performance. The volume is accompanied by a full introduction and notes by the series editor John Willett and includes Brecht's own notes and relevant texts as well as all the important textual variants.