Irondale Ensemble Project to Present MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN
The play is a passionate and profound statement against war and, at the same time a tribute to the indomitable survival of the individual.
Irondale, Brooklyn's leading theatrical and artistically ambitious think-tank theater ensemble, will present Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children, May 12-June 5, as the third and final installment of their three-part Bertolt Brecht series Brecht in Exile. Following the ensemble's productions of The Good Soul of Setzuan in early 2020 and The Life of Galileo in 2019, this Spring puts a timeless work written in 1939 centerstage, bridging together art and politics where medieval meets the modern. The live stage production comes on the heels of the ensemble's unique radio drama launched last spring, using their time physically exiled from their theater space to continue to explore the works of this playwright and make sense of the world around us through a theatrical lens.
Widely considered one of the great dramatic creations of the modem stage, Mother Courage and Her Children is Bertolt Brecht's passionate and profound statement against war and, at the same time a tribute to the indomitable survival of the individual. Scheduled to be a part of the company's 2021 season, the production now lurks behind the palimpsest of last year's Mother Courage the Radio Show complete with foley sound effects, old-fashioned microphones, and a repertory company of six actors playing more than 40 parts-sometimes simultaneously in a single scene. The design team led by Kennon Rothchild builds a traditional German beer garden in Irondale's cavernous space complete with imported German beer and light fair creating an immersive world as "Mother Courage" Anna Fierling
pulls her wagon of wares and her children through the blood and carnage of Europe's religious wars. Battered by hardships and brutality, she makes her fortune by selling goods to the soldiers. The war exacts a price- as war always does- and Mother Courage's soaring profits come at the price of searing loss. Through the degradation and death of her children, she ultimately finds herself alone with the one thing in which she truly believes-her crumbling wagon with its tattered flag and a freight of boots and brandy. In the enduring figure of Mother Courage, Bertolt Brecht has created one of the most extraordinary characters in literature, housing a strong sense of self-preservation and impressive flexibility of character going through everything a human can endure.
"As we approach our 40th year of theater making, we continue to identify the works that still resonate with our changing realities," explains Artistic Director Jim Niesen. "The characters and the plot move nimbly between the heavy implications of war and greed to musical interludes that celebrate the influence of vaudeville, German comedy and the American Screwball films of the 1930 and 40's,"
he continues. "And while art does not solve the many urgent challenges of the world, it has the power to provoke, stimulate and entertain while making you take a good look at what's around you. Let us stand in solidarity, let us honor those who continue to endure, and let us gather again to create shared moments that change us."
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Mother Courage will be performed May 12- June 5: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Special Gala Event Performance in honor of Stefan Brecht May 19th, 5:30 p.m. (for information please visit www.irondale.org/inspire)
TICKET INFORMATION
General admission is $30, students, senior and working artists, $15
Guests 21+ can purchase a ticket to include an imported German beer and German soft Brezel for an additional $25, which includes an Irondale souvenir beer stein.
Beer and Brezels will be available for sale throughout the run of the performance for an additional cost per item.
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