''Coriolanus'' is an unfinished German adaptation by the

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

playwright Bertolt Brecht of the English 17th-century tragedy by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

.Willett (1959, 63). Brecht wrote it sometime between 1951 and 1953. This adaptation reveals the influence of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

on Brecht's social thought especially the idea of primary and secondary contradictions which Mao discussed in his treatise ''

On Contradiction ''On Contradiction'' () is a 1937 essay by the Chinese Communist revolutionary Mao Zedong. Along with '' On Practice'' it forms the philosophical underpinnings of the political ideology that would later become Maoism. It was written in August 1 ...

''. Brecht alluded to this text and discusses his development on the original and his ideas for its staging in an essay entitled "Study of the First Scene of Shakespeare's ''Coriolanus''", which is written in the form of a dialogue with his collaborators at the

Berliner Ensemble The Berliner Ensemble () is a German theatre company established by actress Helene Weigel and her husband, playwright Bertolt Brecht, in January 1949 in East Berlin. In the time after Brecht's exile, the company first worked at Wolfgang Langho ...

theatre company. The play was first staged by Heinrich Koch at the

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

Schauspielhaus theatre, where it opened on 22 September 1962. It was later staged by the Berliner Ensemble in September 1964.

Ruth Berghaus Ruth Berghaus (2 July 1927 – 25 January 1996) was a German choreographer, opera and theatre director, and artistic director. Life and career Berghaus was born in Dresden and studied Expressionist dance and Dance direction with Gret Palucca the ...

became famous for her staging of the battle scenes in this production. The play was published in an English translation by

Ralph Manheim Ralph Frederick Manheim (April 4, 1907 – September 26, 1992) was an American translator of German and French literature, as well as occasional works from Dutch, Polish and Hungarian. He was one of the most acclaimed translators of the 20th cen ...

in volume nine of Brecht's ''Collected Plays''.Manheim and Willett (1972, 57-146).

References

Works cited

* Brecht, Bertolt. 1964. ''Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic''. Ed. and trans. John Willett. British edition. London: Methuen. . USA edition. New York: Hill and Wang. . * Manheim, Ralph and

John Willett John William Mills Willett, MBE (24 June 1917 – 20 August 2002) was a British translator and a scholar who is remembered for translating the work of Bertolt Brecht into English. Early life Willett was born in Hampstead and was educated ...

, eds. 1972. ''Collected Plays: Nine.'' By Bertolt Brecht. Bertolt Brecht: Plays, Poetry, Prose Ser. New York: Vintage. . * Willett, John. 1959. ''The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht: A Study from Eight Aspects.'' London: Methuen. . Compositions by Paul Dessau Plays by Bertolt Brecht Works based on Coriolanus Plays and musicals based on works by William Shakespeare {{1950s-play-stub