The collective

de Jean Betts, John Fuegi

Based on John Fuegís book Brecht & Co, New Zealand́s first finalist in the prestigious international Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, The Collective is a witty, boisterous and intelligent dramatisation of the story of Bertolt Brecht́s theatre collective. The play illustrates Fuegís challenge that it is now indisputable that much of Bertolt́s work was written by other writers - members of his collective (mostly women) who received little credit and payment for their work. The Collective manages to be both a penetrating look into history and issues of authorship and abuse of power, and a fascinating, funny and moving story to boot. The Dominion Post called it "an extraordinary piece of writing and a dynamic and powerful piece of theatre". The play is written for a minimum of 8 actors (doubling) but is also ideal for a large cast of energetic actors of 9 to around 30.