Mother Courage and Her Children
by Bertolt Brecht
in a translation by John Willett
Revised by Ed Thomas
Lyrics revised by Dafydd James and Ed Thomas
Director: John E McGrath
It’s Monday afternoon and I’m driving down to Merthyr Tydfil from Wrecsam for the press night of National Theatre Wales’ new adaptation of Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children. I’m doing this partly because I’m determined not to let Wrecsam’s current artistic renaissance make me complacent about travelling to gigs, but also because this adaptation (like many NTW events) is site specific and this is the only chance I’ll get to see this production.
As a performance poet I love the fluid, transient nature of performance: you never step into the same river twice, and yes, we can all sing the virtues of the polished film or recording or production that toured for two solid years, but this explosive, one-of-a-kind theatre is difficult to top.
Before going to see Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru’s recent production of Y Fenyw Ddaeth o’r Mor at Clwyd Theatr Cymru I made the effort to read the play in English so I could better understand it yn Gymraeg and, with hindsight (but for different reasons), I wish I’d done the same with Mother Courage. The main reason being that this production is so multi-layered, the characters so fierce, and the space so creatively used with every last centimeter of the venue drawn into the performance in some way, that I want more of a grounding.
This is the fault of me as an audience member, not the production. I detest being spoon-fed; hackles will rise at the first inkling I’m being patronised by a performance or performer. I want to experience art that pushes me, that makes me think, that loses me at times so I have to work to catch up. I want to drive three hours for a six-course Michelin Starred taster-meal of nitro poached aperitifs, snail porridge and salmon poached in a liquorish gel (even though I might not ‘get’ all of it), I do not want the theatrical equivalent of a BigMac and fries. Thankfully we’re served the former here, not the latter.
Every single actor in Mother Courage’s all-female, all-Welsh cast is superb. Rhian Morgan embraces a mammoth role that could only be carried by someone with her force of personality and shining talent. I love that the whole performance takes place in Merthyr’s Labour Club with some regulars still in situ at the bar watching the telly. NTW’s mission to create theatre across Cymru is well documented in artistic circles but this will be something strange, interesting, maybe even unsettling for a number of Merthyr’s residents, something Brecht would heartily approve of I’m sure.
A quick Google search shows Merthyr has plenty of foodbanks. Not something any town wants to shout about, but highlights why Merthyr, like Wrecsam, is the kind of deprived Welsh town The Army loves to recruit in. Our government continues embroiling Cymru and the UK in global politicking and warfare that many of us want no part in, so watching Mother try to shield her children from being drafted is heart-wrenching, current and relevant, and makes me wonder how many Merthyr mothers have felt the same way.
The shopping trolleys are a brilliant device and a series of TVs displaying rolling news footage juxtaposed with daytime chat shows and other mindless quizzes clearly highlight the dulling effect consumerism and mass-media have on our psyches especially when the same screens are used for the karaoke lyrics. I feel, compelled to stare at them, am overwhelmed by them, then other times I forget they’re there. Point made.
In contrast the modern-day ‘singing around the piano’ (karaoke), and disco-dancing serve as a pertinent reminder that the human spirit will continue to adapt, laugh and sing, even when being crushed by war, poverty and death. Which brings me neatly to finish with a quote from Brecht:
“In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.
About the dark times.”
Mother Courage is running at Merthyr Labour Club, Merthyr Tydfil until 22nd May 2015. More information here.
First posted on NTW Community pages here.