#oh also! idk where you live but try and keep a pulse on ur local theatres. i still havent been able to see brecht live tragically but

[brechtian]

Hello! I'm not familiar with theater, but I had to read 'a short organun for theater' for school and it made me really interested in Brecht! But I'm not sure how I should consume his plays, like, should I read it? Watch it? Both? In what order? And do you have recommendations where to watch his plays online? Sorry if you've already answered those questions but you seem like a good person to ask this :)

Hey there!

First of all, so excited that you read and enjoyed a short organum; I think beginning with an overview of brecht's theory is a really great way to get into his theatre. Unfortunately, there are not many professional recordings of Brecht's plays that I'm aware of--the only one I can get my hands on is the national theatre live recording of threepenny opera from 2016. The best place to find recordings of plays in my experience is r/ProshotTheatre (which i used when it was public access, but now you have to have a reddit account and request to join, which i am not doing until im desperate lmao).

I really enjoy reading his plays, but you are going to want to find a good translation; the translator makes or breaks the experience. In all honesty, I usually just read whatever translations I can get my hands on at used bookstores (if you want physical copies, going to your local used bookstore is a great way to find brecht plays). I enjoyed the version of mother courage I read, which was translated by David Hare, and I also enjoyed the James and Tania Stern translation of Caucasian Chalk Circle. I didn't enjoy the threepenny translation I read done by Desmond Vesey, but that copy includes a foreword by Lotte Lenya (who acted in the original production) that's fantastic. Other than that, my best advice is to just find different translations online (libgen is great) and skim the first page or two to see if you like the translator's stlye.

It's important to note that I don't know German, so my opinions on translations are pretty much solely rooted in how comprehensible and how prosaic I found the translation.

If you're able to find brecht recordings, I don't personally think it usually matters much what order you read/watch in (however I would recommend watching threepenny before reading it), but I usually read a play before seeing it. I know I have other Brecht enjoyers following me, so if any of yall have particular translators you like or recordings, please reply to this post :)

Other than that, I don't really have any more advice besides that I'd recommend beginning with Mother Courage and Her Children. Also, even though it's the easiest to find a recording of, read a play or two before threepenny opera. That play's ending is in direct dialogue with the deus ex machina trope (if you don't know the history of deus ex machina as it specifically relates to theatre, do a quick wikipedia page or like, just ask me lol), which is interesting, but probably won't have as big of an impact on you as a viewer/reader as, say, the ending of mother courage.

Happy reading!