Book cover for The Good Person Of Szechwan by Bertolt Brecht

The Good Person Of Szechwan

2015 Released
160 Pages
3-4 Hours
Audiobook Unavailable
Hardback Unavailable
Methuen DramaISBN 9781408160862
Translated by John Willett
Brecht's famous parable, written in exile in 1939-41, shows that in an unjust society good can only survive by means of evil. In it, the gods come to earth in search of enough good people to justify their existence. They find Shen Teh, a good-hearted but penniless prostitute, and make her a gift that enables her to set up her own business. But her goodness brings ruin and she must disguise herself as a man in order to muster sufficient ruthlessness to survive.


Published in Methuen Drama's Modern Classics series, this edition features an introduction and extensive notes and textual variants.

Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) was a German poet, playwright, and theater director. An influential theater 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 Berliner Ensemble-the post-war theater company operated by Brecht and his wife and long-time collaborator, the actress Helene Weigel-with its internationally acclaimed productions.

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John Willett

Translated by

John Willett (1917-2002) was the greatest English language authority on Brecht the writer and man of the theatre. The foremost translator and editor of Brecht's drama, poetry, letters, diaries, theatrical essays and fiction, Willett produced a dozen volumes for Methuen Drama on the greatest modern German writer.

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