Retelling van Gogh: Adapting Vincent van Gogh’s Biography Using Bertold Brecht’s Epic Theatre

Vincent van Gogh is one of the most famous painters in the world. His paintings, such as the “Starry Night”, and his many self-portraits are among the most well-known in the world for its precise brushwork and use of vivid colors. However, Vincent is remembered not only for his paintings, but also for his tortured life, which included slicing off his ear and committing suicide while working before his easel near the end of his miserable, misunderstood life. With the usage of some of the elements of Bertold Brecht’s methods of Epic Theatre, Vincent van Gogh’s complicated life as an artist will be presented with further emphasis applied unto the struggles he has experienced in his whole artistic career. With that, the researchers aim to create a production in the narrative of Vincent van Gogh’s biography, alongside Bertold Brecht’s methods of Epic Theatre, in dedication to the blood, sweat, and tears that van Gogh and other artists share the same experience.