Definition of "Verfremdungseffekt"

Brecht's famous ‘Verfremdungseffekte’[sic] or ‘alienation effect’, intended to counter the magical associations of stage illusion and the tendency for spellbound audiences to identify emotionally with characters on stage, both of which Brecht found abhorrent.

1997 May, Clive Barker, Simon Trussler, editors, New Theatre Quarterly, volume 13, number 50, page 114