Bertolt Brecht's great anti-war play, Mother Courage and Her Children, is given a clear and coherent production by English Touring Theatre, with Diana Quick as the indestructible mother and shrewd trader on the 17th Century battlefield. | "the loudmouth mother survives but suffers the agony all alone, having lost all her children in the war" | |
The warning drum beats and there's pathos from Kattrin (Jodie McNee) and Mother Courage (Diana Quick), as she tows her ever present wagon. The mute daughter finally makes her voice heard, but dies, whereas the loudmouth mother survives but suffers the agony all alone, having lost all her children in the war. Brecht wrote the play to express his anti-war polemic. Did the audience get the parable? While they left the theatre did they rethink their own actions and decisions? Brought to York Theatre Royal from English Touring Theatre director Stephen Unwin, the production is straightforward, although it drags a bit at times. Diana Quick gives a powerful performance in the title role. Her sharp voice remains central to the entire production, with a competent supporting cast, albeit a balance seems to be lacking here. Gina Isaac’s Yvette the Prostitute shows rather serious acting, however, her costume seems to belong to someone else. Rather than a live band, the production uses recorded sound, but that is perhaps understandable with a touring theatre company. None of the singing is exceedingly impressive, but Brecht’s techniques for his musical theatre are loyally presented in this way. Malcolm Rippeth’s lighting design occasionally plays a crucial part in the play to enhance the intensity of characters’ emotional states. However, all in all this is a rather ‘play-it-safe’ adaptation with few surprises, although some scenes are especially memorable, for example the ending scene, and the talk between the Cook (Tom Georgeson) and Mother Courage. Wanyu Lin | 
