Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht at Shakespeare’s Globe is one of many anti-war shows we have seen in London. However, its unique style lets it stand out distinctly from every other play. Today, shows on the west end employ a lot of realism and naturalism tactics. But the Brechtian style strives to be exactly opposite of that. Brecht wanted the audience to be reminded of the fact they were watching a play and not be emotionally invested in the story. In Mother Courage and Her Children, actors frequently interacted with the audience, either by making eye contact with them or speaking directly to them. The characters in the play acknowledge when they sing and the inherent theatricality of it. And instead of carrying dead characters offstage, they roll them into a pit in the middle of the stage. There were frequent reminders of the play’s unreality, though it may not have been to Brecht’s standards. The gunshot sound-effects and smell of smoke in the air felt extremely life-like. As did the use of gore makeup and fake blood on the actors, especially Swiss Cheese and Kattrin. Additionally, the direction and the acting in the deaths of each child as well as Kattrin’s attack made it hard not to be emotionally invested in these characters. In these moments, the actors played realism and I saw many audience members around me tear up. I think Brecht would have been appalled by this and heavily disagreed with how it was directed. But that is not a bad thing in my opinion. For audiences in the modern age, I think you have to tug at their empathy and emotions to make them care about the story you tell. Although it wasn’t the exact definition of a Brechitan work, this production of Mother Courage and Her Children was greatly inspired by Brecht’s theories while also being more accessible to modern audiences.
-Milly Medlock
Theatre in London U of A 