Mother Courage and Her Children

Mother Courage and Her Children
By Bertolt Brecht. Translation by Michael Gow. Belvoir, Upstairs Theatre. June 6 – July 26, 2015.

A rectangle painted in the corner of the performance space and a few props, costumes and musical instruments set a bleak scene for this austere production of Brecht’s episodic play about wartime carnage and profiteering. So minimalist is the set, that Mother Courage’s wagon – a bright red modern mobile roadside street stall complete with coloured lights and a roll down counter – seems almost anachronistic.

The wagon, its lights, and a cast dressed in a motley collection of modern day costume bits and pieces, attempt to take the setting to a more contemporary war. But the pace of the production is slow and, despite the use of some pyrotechnics that serve to wake up the audience, it slips into an almost dreary tempo that is more than a little disappointing for a main line production.

All of Brecht’s plays require a busy ensemble cast, prepared to double in a number of roles and become the chorus for numerous songs. This play is no exception.  As well as playing soldiers, customers, passers-by and musicians, the actors play a variety of characters who symbolise the victims and profiteers of war.

That is, except for Courage herself, who is the centre of the action, whether remonstrating with army officers, joking with passers by, or mourning the loss of her children … and her profits. It’s a big role and one Robyn Nevin is obviously enjoying.

She plays a diminutive but feisty Mother Courage, gutsy, determined, and stubbornly protective of her children and her way of living. Nevin gives Courage a gravelly, deep voice and a brash, confident energy that she sustains constantly, despite being on stage for all but a few minutes in the final act. She sings, and dances, and draws the audience into her circle of control.

Richard Pyros, Tom Conroy and Emele Ugavule play her sons Eilif and Swiss Cheese and her daughter, Kattrin, who never speaks. All three actors portray the personal and financial insecurities of a family who are on the move all the time, yet are also fiercely loyal … and brave.

Anthony Phelan plays the Chaplain who renounces his vocation for the duration of the war, and throws in his lot with Mother Courage. Arky Michael is the cheeky army Cook with whom Courage enjoys a little flirtation and a few brandies.

Paula Arundell plays Yvette, a saucy prostitute who benefits handsomely from her liaisons with high ranking officers, including the General, played by Alex Menglet. They are supported by Lena Cruz, Michael McStay and Hazem Shammas who are at times officers, soldiers, clerks and townspeople.

Brecht’s message to the world in Mother Courage is just as poignant today as it was when the play was first staged in Zurich in 1941 – perhaps even more so. But if it is to make a similar impact on contemporary audiences, it probably needs to be a little faster and more hard-hitting and fiery than this production.

Carol Wimmer

Photographer: Heidrun Lohr.

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