Mother Courage seems to be a crowd favorite on this trip. I agree, I think it was beautifully put together and a great show, at least the part I watched. After the intermission fiasco, poor Kailee, I volunteered to sit with her in the seats. I do not know what happened, but I did start nodding in and out of consciousness through act two because of my heat exhaustion. So, my information will mainly focus on Act One of the show, but what a great act it was!
I now understand Erin’s obsession with Bertolt Brecht. I think the play is tastefully made, and we all got to see a wonderful production of it. Bertolt uses his distancing tactics in this play correctly. One of the first few scenes was the actors pointing and making fun of the audience. I thought it was hilarious until they pointed at me and said the word blowjob; preferably not what I wanted to hear while almost passing out from heat exhaustion, but nonetheless, I chuckled a little. Bertolt’s distancing tactic really added to the play in my opinion and actually made me personally feel more involved with the characters, but still not a part of the story. I feel as though the audience kind of served as a watchful eye on the war. We were meant to be the ones who stay composed while all of this death and emotional trauma opens up in front of us. Was it effective to put the audience in that position? That I say yes to. It truly did allow audience members to think about their personal connection to war and society and what differences they can make rather than just being completely absorbed into the plot. If done incorrectly, this distancing technique can take audience members out of the story and just seem like a cheesy fourth-wall break. If done correctly, it can be very effective.
Theatre in London U of A 