What theatrical methods would you employ to reveal Brecht's political purpose in a production of Ui?

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What theatrical methods would you employ to reveal Brecht’s political purpose in a production of Ui?

“The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui” written by Bertolt Brecht is a political parable set in Chicago during the Second World War. It has been described as “a blasting attack on the banal irrationality which can lead in certain circumstances to psychopathic governments”

The main regime that Brecht was commenting on was Nazi Germany so this would influence the production techniques. Brecht wanted to make his audience feel uncomfortable and the challenge facing any director is how to make the play have a political conscience.

The play is set in Chicago for two reasons: the gangster industry was rife in the city during the war and because the setting provided “a cloak to distance German audiences from what were parables about their own society.” Brecht had been attacking the Nazis from as early as 1930 in the poem the “Song of the SA man” and “Hitler Chorales” but after the open portrayals of Hitler by Chaplin, Brecht was inspired to present the characters of him and his associates as protection-racket gangsters from the Al Capone era. This would have to be borne in mind throughout the play.

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Brecht was trying to convey the point that violence and corruption will always be in society, people will see opportunity and exploit it and people must stand up to the exploitation.

“ It only takes a few good men to do nothing for evil to take over.”

The director has to ensure that the characters are seen as monsters not “overgrown mobsters” who are just to be laughed at and forgotten.

 In scene 3 Ui finds out that Dogsborough has elicited city funds and that the Cauliflower Trust is a sound investment so he sees an opportunity to set up ...

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