Exceptions and Rules: Brecht, Planchon and the Good Person of Szechwan

This book examines the Brechtian influence on Roger Planchon’s three stagings of Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan (July 1954; October 1954; December 1958). The meaning of a Brechtian mise en scene is determined by an analysis of the Berliner Ensemble production of the same play (1957). A comparison of these stagings not only reveals the clash between the German and French theatrical traditions but the German mise en scene also provides a point of reference which underlines the similarities and differences between Planchon’s and Brecht’s staging methods.