Mother Courage and Her Children at Shakespeare’s Globe Review
Mother Courage and Her Children at Shakespeare’s Globe. Photo by Marc Brenner
Written by Cathie for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. All views are our own
Content warnings: This play contains strong language, and scenes of a distressing nature, including war, violence and references to rape and sexual violence. It contains loud noises including gun shots, explosions, drug use, and weapons.
Bertolt Brecht’s powerful anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children has landed at Shakespeare’s Globe for the first time with a literal bang. Part dystopian horror, part social commentary, fully a condemnation of the terrible impact of war, especially on the innocent. This is a riveting play from its first explosive opener.
Director Elle While has created a magnificent update of Brecht’s 1939 powerfully charged anti-war play. While the original play is set within the 17th Century 30 years war, this adaptation is set in a bleak, dystopian land only referred to as the Grid, where two shambolic but powerful armies, simply called the Blue and Purple, wage war endlessly against each other to steal resources and slaughter innocents. There are subtle hints to modern wars, including Ukraine, with mentions of drones in warfare. This play is a beautifully thorough condemnation of war in all forms, showcasing the damage it does to all and that no one, least of all the innocent, survives it without scars of the physical and mental kind. Every awful thing that most often happens in war is discussed, and while some happen off stage, or are only hinted at, the devastating impact is still experienced by the characters and the audience. There are plenty of brutal scenes on stage as well, which brilliantly showcase that no one on stage is a good person. The story is unrelenting in its harrowing portrayal and is vivid in its disallowance of the audience to feel comfort, but instead feel the pragmatic dissonance of the characters throughout. There are also many uses of guns and harrowing examples of violence on stage as well, which vividly captivate the audience and keep us in a perpetual state of unease. This is extended by the 90-minute first act and hour-long second act, with unrelenting tension wound tight throughout. The set is extended to include a circular platform to allow the cart to endlessly circle in an unchanging bleak landscape, with ragged pendants strewn behind as the only ornamentation.
Mother Courage and her three children lead a weatherbeaten cart while grifting their way through the wasteland. Leading as a brusque but caring matriarch, she serves both Blue and Purple teams and only cares about her family's safety and where to find the most profit in order to survive. She is the centre upon which this story spins, and her pain pushes this story along. Michelle Terry was a phenomenal revelation as Mother Courage. Courage is salacious, shrewd and deeply cunning. She revels in the best deals, and profit above all else. This comes at great personal cost and blinds her to the point of refusing to give shirts to wounded civilians or haggling over ransom money. As much as she loves making deals, she loves her children more, which leads to much tragedy during the course of the play.
Her children are unique but also represent the archetypes of war. Eilif, her eldest son, portrayed by Vinnie Heaven, is brash and brave, idolised and praised for brutal actions in war but punished for the same actions in peace. Her second son, Swiss Cheese, portrayed by Rawaed Asde is simple but honest, and this chivalric loyalty leads to his horrific doom. Her youngest is her mute daughter, Katrina, portrayed by Rachelle Diedericks. Vile soldiers rob her beauty and innocence at every moment, yet she still chooses with her actions to help others whenever possible. Nadine Higgins, as a drunken prostitute turned vicious madam, is brilliantly horrifying but captivating to watch. Ferdy Roberts is an excellently shambolic, drunken Minister who waxes endlessly on the impact of war on “good men”, providing a brilliant foil to Courage. This cast is phenomenal and keeps the audience mesmerised throughout on the edge of their seats.
Overall, this is a stunningly powerful play and a rallying cry against the awful costs of war. If you are looking for profound prose, fantastic casts, a bleak dystopian wasteland and an unforgettable night out at the theatre, then this is the show for you.
Mother Courage and Her Children plays at Shakespeare’s Globe until 27 June.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
