V effect

Brecht desired his audience to remain fascinated and engaged by the action otherwise his message would be lost but it was the emotional attachment to the characters that he aimed to avoid.

His theatre always had a political, social or moral message to it that the audience would walk away questioning. So not only were people entertained by the performance but they were educated too. Techniques included:

• Narration- This is used to constantly remind the audience they are watching a story being told before them, narrators would sometimes tell them the action before it happened. This ensured no emational involvement between the audience and characters as they already knew what was happening.
• Coming out of role- again reminding the audience they are not to connect with ficational characters.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall- this connects the actors and audience, destroying any illusion of reality.
• Using Placards- a sign or banner allowing the audience to understand what is happening on the stage on a deeper level.