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 scène 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 scène also provides a point of reference which underlines the similarities and differences between Planchon's and Brecht's staging methods.