Irondale gets Brecht Right…of Left?

I am still very much a student of the theater with a special interest in Bertolt Brecht. His is the kind of theater which is in a class all by itself. Some of his text may be considered great literature, but mainly, it is in the staging of these texts, following tropes set down for his particular vision of what theater should be, where his work is most memorable. So when I heard about Saint Joan of the Stock Yards, (think of this as a mash up between Joan of Arc and Guys N’ Dolls), I was very intrigued. I have seen a few of scripts brought to life. 

Now I can add Saint Joan of the Stockyards. Man. I love the title. Of all the work I have experienced so far, this is the most direct attack on capitalism. If that doesn’t alienate, well Irondale will make sure that before you leave the building you will have been hustled, cajoled, preached to, involved, fed, and hit up for more money. (Irony?). All this will entertain, inform, and move you in the most unconventional of ways.And I think you will love it.

The proceedings were positively Elizabethan with the bar open before the seating, direct address to the audience, clowning, improv, and all the artifice of theatricality laid bare for the spectator to judge, dismiss and then become immersed in the story of not only the characters, but also of the people portraying them.

If you have never seen Brecht performed, this is a must see. The world of Verfremdungseffekt

will materialize before your eyes.

  

Bert Brecht's Saint Joan of the Stockyards

May 22- June 13, 2015
Wednesday-Saturday 7:30PM | Saturday 6 & 13 3PM 
Tickets $25 | Seniors/Students $15 | Matinees $20

IRONDALE ENSEMBLE at the IRONDALE CENTER

85 S Oxford Street

Ft. Greene Brooklyn