MOTHER COURAGE Nottingham and tour to 24 April.
Nottingham and tour
MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN: Bertolt Brecht translated and adapted by Olandipo Agboluaji
Nottingham Playhouse in association with the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Tkts: 0115 9419419 (Nottingham)
Runs: 2h 40m: one interval: till 21st February: 7.45pm, matinees Thurs 12th 13.30pm, Sat 14th 14.30pm then tour to 24 April 2004
Review: Jen Mitchell: 10th February
A powerful, demanding, and at times satirical look at the harsh realities of war and its effects on one woman and her family caught up in the conflict.
Whereas Brecht's original takes us across 30 years of war torn Europe, this stunning new adaptation is set in a modern West Africa engaged in a long and bloody civil war. Relevant cultural references bring the play up to date and make its messages all the more meaningful.
The opening scene is both frightening and funny as ways of recruiting young people into the army are discussed, including the need for constant television coverage of the war and a decent web page rings a bell?
The director and designer have made every effort to adhere to Brecht's theories of theatre. Staged on a bare set, a suggestion of place is provided by a sand-like floor and a large concave screen as the backdrop onto which is projected daylight, or a moon and stars as night. Each scene is complete within itself and is introduced by a simple title giving the passing of time or place. Infrequently stark photographs of children bearing arms in current conflicts are shown, catapulting us back to reality, preventing us from immersing ourselves in the play to the point of intellectual oblivion.
Mother Courage tries to protect her children in the best way she knows how. A trader who has no allegiance, apart from to profit, she uses her business and bartering skills to see her through the horrors that war brings. A complex character whose emotions have been suppressed by her need to fight for the survival of herself and her children, it is her unending desire to turn a profit that results in the loss of her three children; ultimately she is left alone with her goods and cart. Carmen Munroe gives a performance of great strength and depth, her emotions held tightly in check as she reveals the cruel and harsh realities of war.
A production full of dark satire and cruel scenes but little can compare to the sight of Mother Courage's mute daughter Ngozi (Ashley Miller), climbing on top of the wagon and beating her drum to alert the townspeople to the oncoming troops before being shot down.
The production uses original songs with their harsh, discordant melodies alongside African drumming rhythms to great effect; a reminder of setting, a lesson to the audience of a current situation. Although the strength of the play and this current production is that this could be anywhere, at any time, in any war.
Mother Courage: Carmen Munroe
Ashewo: Yvette Rochester-Duncan
Ngozi: Ashley Miller
Opoku: David Gyasi
Cook: Jim Findley
Chaplain: Kevin Golding
Eket: Seun Shote
Young Ensemble: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Old Ensemble: Derek Ezenagu
Director: Josette Bushell-Mingo
Associate Director/Choreographer: Paul J Medford
Designer: Rosa Maggiora
Lighting Designer: Philip Gladwell
Composer/Musical Director: Akintayo Akinbode
2004-02-12 15:57:44