epic theatre
- noun
- /ˈɛpɪk ˈθiːətər/
- Literature
:
teatro épico
- I—and an Old God you shall meet (you love epic theatre, don't you?)—shall imbue it with conviction and a lifelike appearance.
Examples
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The play featured innovative techniques of epic theatre that challenged the audience's emotions and thoughts.
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Piwowski's film might seem to have little in common with Brecht's epic theater, but montage plays an important function in it, interrupting the course of the story and bringing to the surface the gap between the ideal and the reality.
Academic text (2016) -
This, according to Walter Benjamin, is the case in Berthold Brecht's epic theater.
Academic text (2016) -
In her latest production, the director used epic theatre to make social and political issues more accessible to the audience.
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Many educators believe that epic theatre can provoke critical thinking and encourage discussion among students.
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituents 'epic' (grand, heroic) and 'theatre' (dramatic performance) would likely lead a B1 learner to infer some kind of large-scale or grand theatrical work. However, the specific technical meaning (the Brechtian, didactic, episodic form that breaks the illusion and addresses the audience) is specialized and not directly predictable from the words alone, so prior exposure or disciplinary knowledge is needed.
Etymology
The term epic theatre comes from comparing a stage show to an epic story: imagine a play made of clear, separate scenes that stops to talk to the audience and point out ideas. That's why epic theatre tries to make people 'think' about social problems instead of only letting them feel the story.