Bertolt Brecht - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Brecht wanted the answer to Lenin’s question ‘Wie und was soll man lernen?’ ('How and what should we learn?'). He created an influential theory of theatre, the epic theatre, wherein a play should not cause the spectator to emotionally identify with the action before him or her, but should instead provoke rational self-reflection and a critical view of the actions on the stage. He believed that the experience of a climactic catharsis of emotion left an audience complacent. Instead, he wanted his audiences to use this critical perspective to identify social ills at work in the world and be moved to go forth from the theatre and effect change. 20072008additionalarticlesaugustbertoltbrechtbrecht.oggeugenfromneedingoctoberreferencesstatementsunsourcedwith in Art > Theatrewith brechtepicinfluentialplayprovokeself-reflectionspectatortheatretheorywikiwikipedia Note: Bertolt Brecht (born Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht February 10, 1898 – August 14, 1956) was an influential German communist dramatist, stage director, and poet of the 20th century.