Mother Courage and Her Children

Making creative suggestions is key to Brecht's work. This film looks at his theoretical work.

The most important object in the play is the cart that Mother Courage has for all her merchandise, from it we can see what her financial situation is each time she appears. This film looks at the design process behind the cart in the show.

Warner talks about the play, her particular approach to the project and Brecht.

An insight into what happens before the curtain rises on a show.

Courage is a business woman because she is a mother. Courage can't be a mother because she is a business woman

The director wanted music that was neither modern, nor old, and certainly not a pastiche so Deborah Warner approached Duke Special.

Using large white shutters as the set changed the approach to the piece. Light, sound and video were used in place of a big set.

Making a space that is inviting and exciting for an audience. A play is not a history lesson.

A pamphlet about Deborah Warner's production of Mother Courage and her Children at the National Theatre in 2009, starring Fiona Shaw. The Pamphlet contains production images, articles, interviews, points for discussion, and suggested activities for classroom work.