Brecht’s Influence on Boal: An Examination Attempting to trace the influence on a particular artist can always pose a host of problems, given the fact that in the lifetime of an artist, they have been impacted by a host of artistic influences. However, the work of Boal has a very evident debt to Bertolt Brecht, most notably in Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed (Babbage, 6). This work make constant reference to Brecht’s thoughts on Epic Theatre, and orbits around many of Brecht’s motifs on politics and anti-illusionism, along with a critical production aesthetic (Babbage, 6). This paper will examine how the work of Augusto Boal via his Theatre of the Oppressed, was undeniably influenced by the work of Bertolt Brecht.

One aspect of Brecht’s profound influence on the work of Boal, and arguably on so many artists of the era, was that he encouraged a new means of thinking about theatre and about the world at large. “Brecht was revolutionary in that he drew the audience into his works and encouraged them to think in a whole new way -- about theater but also about the society they were living in” (Bowen). This goal meant that Brecht’s entire approach to theatre was innovative, in order to match his subversive goals. This was not a playwright who believed in art for art’s sake, rather he believed that there was change that needed to occur in the world, and art was a way for this change to occur. “Brecht wanted his audiences' critical stance toward the theater to translate into a critical stance toward society itself” (Bowen). Thus, with the work of Brecht, there are two levels of enjoyment: one can enjoy it on purely the aesthetic level, and one can enjoy it as a signal for change as it needs to happen, in places such as third world countries. This influence is readily seen...

Boal’s plays would often revolve around a pervasive social issue, except that he would portray it in such a manner that the audience would understand the underlying message that he was getting out. He would demonstrate the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed in a manner that would resonate with the audience.
Brecht appeared to value the more practical aspect of theatre and the work of transferring a message to the audience. His primary objective was to “unwrap the packing” so that the audience would not be so swept away by the performance but rather by struck by the essence of the play in its entirety. Brecht’s influence on Boal is demonstrated via Boal’s mirrored belief that the goal of theatre would be to provide a message, but to even go further and assist people in understanding the answer to their oppression. Boal in certain respects goes one step further than Brecht, in that he provides a forum so that the audience can express what they feel and gives them a medium to communicate those feelings.

Brecht’s Spartan approach to theatre was one of his trademark approaches. In some of the plays of Brecht, he would not even have a backdrop on the stage and would not even permit the lights in the theatre to be turned off. In this manner the spectator felt more removed from the process of theatre, and felt more as though he was bearing witness to an overall message. This unraveling of the norms of the theatre no doubt influenced Boal. After a performance of one of his plays, he would ask the audience to complete it or suggest different endings to it. This is a clear deconstruction of the typical and established norms of theatre, something that was no doubt inspired by Brecht’s heavy legacy of constantly subverting the rules and expectations of…