Mother_Courage

Mother Courage Brecht’s Mother Courage and her Children raises confronting issues to challenge and urge the audience to question their values, whilst plunging them into the political climate of the 1930s and 1940s European context. Brecht’s Epic theatre was largely based on his crucial dramatic technique of verfremdungseffekt or the alienation effect, which was achieved through didactic performance style to encourage the audience to adopt a more critical view of the performance. Additionally, the physical stance and attitude of gestus reveals the emotions and motives that underpin the actions of the characters, which particularly emphasises Brecht’s political concerns. In a class workshop of Scene Twelve, a group of students wished to portray the brutality of war and the malicious nature of Mother Courage through the alienation of the audience. The characters physicalised Mother Courage’s song by placing the scene in a modern context, including rapping the lyrics and utilising strong expressionistic movements. The use of the song, whilst alienating, was used to great affect by the group to convey Mother Courage’s juxtaposing view of the war that she despises yet profits from. Brecht’s political aspects were exemplified by the use of obvious gestus, for instance the change of physical levels when money was exchanged between the Peasant and Mother Courage that symbolised her sudden vulnerability. The alienation was intensified with Mother Courage covering her ears, whispering ‘Now she’s asleep’ which reinforced her disillusion and denial of reality and also placed emphasis on Brecht’s intention to show the reality of war and force the audience to question their own social and political context. The use of alienation in this scene cements Brecht’s desire to allow the audience to realise that in spite of losing all her children, Mother Courage fails to ‘see the light’. Although the audience are to condemn her for her sentiments at the conclusion of the scene, we are not presented with a better alternative and so struggle to criticise her actions. Instead, the audience is faced with the economic and emotional hardships experience by the ‘little people’ and Mother Courage’s forsaking of values due to political instability. Ultimately, the use of gestus and alienation intensifies Brecht’s political issues and concerns, which transcend time making the presentation and emotional impact of these plays universal and available to all.