The measures taken

de Bertolt Brecht

'The Measures Taken', first produced in 1930 in the Grosses Schauspielhaus, Berlin, is a didactic parable showing how dedication to an idealist cause sometimes does not leave room for a response to individual suffering. Four 'Agitators' describe how they were forced to kill a 'Young Comrade' because of his susceptibility to pity and compromise. The didactic Lehrstc̈ke (or 'learning-plays') were written during 1929 and 1930, and show an abrupt rejection of most of the trappings of conventional theatre.