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Mother Courage and Her Children

Play

Overview

Synopsis

Mother Courage and Her Children, follows one mother -- Mother Courage -- and her three children -- Eilif, Swiss Cheese, and Kattrin -- as they struggle to survive the Thirty Years War that ravaged Europe in the early 17th century. As a canteen woman, Mother Courage attempts to make a profit off the war by selling goods to soldiers. The very war that Mother Courage seeks to use to her advantage, however, ends up depriving her life of all its worth. At the end of the play Mother Courage is left bereft and alone to make her way in the world, moving forward the only way she knows how: following an army regiment, pulling her wagon behind her, and hawking her wares. Created in 1939 by Bertolt Brecht, Mother Courage and Her Children, is considered one of the most powerful anti-war plays in existence, and was written in just over a month near the beginning of World War II to protest the rise of Fascist Germany.

Show Information

Category
Play
Age Guidance
Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
Number of Acts
1
First Produced
1941
Genres
Drama, Historical/Biographical
Time & Place
1624-1636, sweden, poland, germany
Cast Size
large
Licensor
Ideal For
Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Young Adult, Mature Adult, Child, Early Teen, Late Teen, Elderly Characters, Large Cast

Characters

Showing 8 of 35 characters

Character Portrayals

See StageAgent members who have performed roles in Mother Courage and Her Children.

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