Saint Joan of the Stockyards
Encyclopedia
Saint Joan of the Stockyards is a play written by the German modernist
playwright Bertolt Brecht
between 1929 and 1931, after the success of his musical
The Threepenny Opera
and during the period of his radical experimental work with the Lehrstücke
. It is based on the musical that he co-authored with Elisabeth Hauptmann
, Happy End
(1929). In this version of the story of Joan of Arc
, Brecht transforms her into "Joan Dark," a member of the "Black Straw Hats" (a Salvation Army
-like group) in 20th-century Chicago
. The play charts Joan's battle with Pierpont Mauler, the unctuous owner of a meat-packing plant. Like her predecessor, Joan is a doomed woman, a martyr and (initially, at least) an innocent in a world of strike-breakers, fat cats, and penniless workers. Like many of Brecht's plays it is laced with humor and songs as part of its epic
dramaturgical structure
.
The play was broadcast on Berlin Radio on the 11 April 1932, with Carola Neher
as Joan and Fritz Kortner
as Mauler. The cast also included Helene Weigel
, Ernst Busch
, Peter Lorre
, Paul Bildt
and Friedrich Gnass. The play did not receive its first theatrical production until the 30 April 1959, at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus
in Hamburg
, after Brecht's death. Brecht had asked Gustaf Gründgens
to direct, with scenic design
by Caspar Neher
and music by Siegfried Franz. Hanna Hiob played Joan.
Brecht wrote two other versions of the Joan of Arc story: The Visions of Simone Machard
(1942) and The Trial of Joan of Arc of Proven, 1431
(1952).
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
playwright Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
between 1929 and 1931, after the success of his musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
and during the period of his radical experimental work with the Lehrstücke
Lehrstücke
The Lehrstücke are a radical and experimental form of modernist theatre developed by Bertolt Brecht and his collaborators from the 1920s to the late 1930s. The Lehrstücke stem from Brecht's Epic Theatre techniques but as a core principle explore the possibilities of learning through acting,...
. It is based on the musical that he co-authored with Elisabeth Hauptmann
Elisabeth Hauptmann
Elisabeth Hauptmann was a German writer who worked with Bertolt Brecht....
, Happy End
Happy End (musical)
Happy End is a surrealistic three-act musical comedy by Kurt Weill, Elisabeth Hauptmann, and Bertolt Brecht which first opened in Berlin at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm on September 2, 1929. It closed after seven performances...
(1929). In this version of the story of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
, Brecht transforms her into "Joan Dark," a member of the "Black Straw Hats" (a Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
-like group) in 20th-century Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. The play charts Joan's battle with Pierpont Mauler, the unctuous owner of a meat-packing plant. Like her predecessor, Joan is a doomed woman, a martyr and (initially, at least) an innocent in a world of strike-breakers, fat cats, and penniless workers. Like many of Brecht's plays it is laced with humor and songs as part of its epic
Non-Aristotelian drama
Non-Aristotelian drama, or the 'epic form' of the drama, refers to a kind of play whose dramaturgical structure departs from the features of classical tragedy in favour of the features of the epic, as defined in each case by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in his Poetics .The German...
dramaturgical structure
Dramatic structure
Dramatic structure is the structure of a dramatic work such as a play or film. Many scholars have analyzed dramatic structure, beginning with Aristotle in his Poetics...
.
The play was broadcast on Berlin Radio on the 11 April 1932, with Carola Neher
Carola Neher
- Biography :Neher was born in Munich to a music teacher in 1900. She started to work as a bank clerk in 1917. In the summer of 1920, she gave her debut performance at the Baden-Baden theater without a specific stage education, later also working at the theaters of Darmstadt, Nuremberg and at the...
as Joan and Fritz Kortner
Fritz Kortner
Fritz Kortner was an Austrian-born stage and film actor and theatre director.Kortner was born in Vienna as Fritz Nathan Kohn. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After graduating, he joined Max Reinhardt in Berlin in 1911 and then Leopold Jessner in 1916. Also in that year...
as Mauler. The cast also included Helene Weigel
Helene Weigel
Helene Weigel was a distinguished German actress. She was the second wife of Bertolt Brecht, and together they had a son Stefan Brecht and daughter Barbara Brecht-Schall .The daughter of a Jewish lawyer, she became a Communist Party member from 1930 and Artistic Director of the...
, Ernst Busch
Ernst Busch (actor)
Ernst Busch was a German singer and actor.Busch first rose to prominence as an interpreter of political songs, particularly those of Kurt Tucholsky, in the Berlin Kabarett scene of the 1920s...
, Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
, Paul Bildt
Paul Bildt
Paul Hermann Bildt was a German film actor. He appeared in over 180 films between 1910 and 1956. He was born and died in Berlin, Germany.- Selected filmography :* Ludwig II: Glanz und Ende eines Königs...
and Friedrich Gnass. The play did not receive its first theatrical production until the 30 April 1959, at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus
Deutsches Schauspielhaus
The Deutsches Schauspielhaus is a theatre in the St. Georg quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany. With a capacity for 1192 spectators, it places it as Germany's largest theatre...
in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, after Brecht's death. Brecht had asked Gustaf Gründgens
Gustaf Gründgens
Gustaf Gründgens , born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, intendant and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg...
to direct, with scenic design
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
by Caspar Neher
Caspar Neher
Caspar Neher was an Austrian-German scenographer and librettist, known principally for his career-long working relationship with Bertolt Brecht.Neher was born in Augsburg...
and music by Siegfried Franz. Hanna Hiob played Joan.
Brecht wrote two other versions of the Joan of Arc story: The Visions of Simone Machard
The Visions of Simone Machard
The Visions of Simone Machard is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. Written in 1942, the play is the second of three treatments of the Joan of Arc story that Brecht created...
(1942) and The Trial of Joan of Arc of Proven, 1431
The Trial of Joan of Arc of Proven, 1431
The Trial of Joan of Arc of Proven, 1431 is an adaptation by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht of a radio play by Anna Seghers. It was written in collaboration with Benno Besson and premiered at the Berliner Ensemble in November 1952, in a production directed by Besson , with Käthe Reichel as...
(1952).
Characters
- Joan Dark, lieutenant in the Black Straw Hats
- Pierpont Mauler, meat king
- Cridle, a meat packer
- Graham, a meat packer
- Lennox, a meat packer
- Meyers, a meat packer
- Slift, a broker
- Mrs Luckerniddle
- Gloomb, a worker
- Paul Snyder, major in the Black Straw Hats
- Martha, a Black Straw Hat
- Jackson, a lieutenant in the Black Straw Hats
- Mulberry, a landlord
- A Waiter
- Meat Packers
- Wholesalers
- Stockbreeders
- Brokers
- Speculators
- Black Straw Hats
- Workers
- Labour Leaders
- The Poor
- Detectives
- Newspapermen
- Newsboys
- Soldiers
- Passers-by
Sources
- Willett, John. 1959. The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht: A Study from Eight Aspects. London: Methuen. ISBN 041334360X.