Plebians Rehearse the Uprising, The

Alternative title: Plebejer Proben den Aufstand
Synopsis: Live audio recording of Günther Grass’s play that was inspired by the Stalin-Allee worker’s march against the headquarters of the Socialist Unity Party in East Berlin on June 17, 1953 and the reaction of intellectuals and artists such as Bertolt Brecht who failed to respond to the uprising by separating himself from the workers. In his introduction to the play Grass notes that Brecht was working on his adaptation of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus in which the audience’s sympathy is redirected towards the plebians. The play is Grass’ indictment of Brecht for failing his responsibilities as head of the Berliner Ensemble. The play begins with the managing-director of an acting company leading professional actors and working-class stand-ins through a rehearsal of his new adaptation of Coriolanus. [Description with acknowledgment to Amy Scott-Douglas, op cit].
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Audio
Recording date: 23 Nov 1970

Theatre: Aldwych Theatre, London
Theatre company: Royal Shakespeare Company
Production type: Other
Plays: Coriolanus
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: Brecht, Bertolt (1898-1956); Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Rehearsals

Reviews: Amy Scott-Douglas, ‘Theatre’ in Burt, Richard (ed). Shakespeares After Shakespeares: an Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture. 2 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006 (entry 3637).

SHAKESPEARE