The heroic life
of a woman who survived the war but lost everything
This antiwar play written powerfully by the great playwright Brecht while in exile will be presented at the NNTT!
Bertolt
Brecht was one of the 20th century's greatest playwrights, who adopted many kinds
of experimental dramaturgy to present theatrical innovations energetically. The
NNTT will present Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder ( Mother Courage and
Her Children), one of the most important of his many works, together with
The Three-penny Opera. Brecht's continuously engaged in theatrical activities
critical of the Nazis and was forced to flee his country. He wrote this play in
1939, while living in Sweden. This is an antiwar play that emphasizes the futility
of war from the perspective of a mother who lives strong-mindedly with her children.
The director is Kuriyama Tamiya, Artistic
Director for the Drama Division at the NNTT, who has directed many high-profile
works, including Morning Becomes Electra, performed at the NNTT in November
2004, which won the Asahi Performing Arts Grand Prize. He has enjoyed reading
Brecht's plays since his student days and will take on the challenge of directing
his work after thorough preparation. The heroine Anna will be played by Otake
Shinobu, whose convincing performance in Morning Becomes Electra was the
driving force behind the award of the Grand Prize. This is the second Brecht play
she will take on, after her appearance in The Good Woman of Setzuan in
1996. One of the pleasures in watching a live performance is listening to the
original music inserted effectively into the drama.
Look forward to a 21st-century production
of Brecht's play Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder ( Mother Courage and
Her Children), which the NNTT will present by assembling capable actors and
actresses well known for their outstanding acting ability in musicals, as well
as little-theatre and shingeki drama.
Synopsis
In the 17th century, Germany
was at the height of the Thirty Years' War, the last religious war that involved
European powers. Anna, "Mother Courage," who was known to
lead a vigorous life even during the war, and her three children, travel from
battlefield to battlefield, selling goods in their covered wagon. One day, her
eldest son enlists as a soldier and leaves her. He is praised
as brave during the war, but is executed for the crime of plunder. Furthermore,
her second son, who worked for the military unit as an accountant, is taken captive
together with a regiment, and brought before a military tribunal. She tries to
bribe the judge, but not in time for his execution by a firing squad. As the war
spreads to wider areas, she moves from one place to another with her wagon. Her
business prospers temporarily, but peace suddenly arrives, preventing her from
continuing her business. As war breaks out again, she wanders from one battlefield
to another together with her daughter, her only child who has survived the war,
but her daughter eventually dies a sad death. Mother Courage, who does not know
that her eldest son was executed and believes him to be still alive, silently
trudges alone to a new battlefield pulling her wagon behind her.
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