Mother Courage and Her Children: Modern Plays

Mother Courage was first performed in Zurich in 1941 and is widely considered to be Brecht's greatest work. Remaining a powerful indictment of war and social injustice, it is an epic drama set in the 17th century during the Thirty Years' War. The plot follows the resilient Mother Courage who survives by running a commissary business that profits from all sides. As the war claims all of her children in turn, the play poignantly shows that no one can profit from the war without also being subject to its terrible cost.
This translation by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner is contemporary and lively, with accessible language, an easy conversational flow and humour. Kushner makes a classic play which is notoriously difficult to perform both stage- and reader-friendly.