Brecht traces through the modern theatre the two lines running from Naturalism and Expressionism. … Naturalism he sees as the “assimilation of art to science,” which gave the Naturalistic theatre great social influence, but at the expense of its capacity to arouse aesthetic pleasure.

Why did Brecht not like naturalism?

His idea of “Epic Theatre” proposed that a play should not cause the spectator to identify emotionally with the characters or action before him or her, but should instead provoke rational self-reflection and a critical view of the action on the stage. …

What is a Brechtian style?

The Brechtian style of performance is a style of theater in which the audience is balanced between two modes of viewership. On the one hand the Brechtian style requires that the audience watch the show engaged emotionally, but not in the classic Aristotelian cathartic way.