Brecht Classic Retold (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Brecht Classic Retold

MOTHER Courage, one of Bertolt Brecht's greatest characters, is to be given a new lease of life in a brand new production which comes to the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham from Tuesday to Saturday, March 9-13.

The epitome of 'survival in the face of adversity,' Mother Courage strives, with war raging around her, to keep herself, her children and her business alive at all costs.

Bloody battlefields are her market place, her wagon is her stall, and she switches allegiance whenever needed.

Set in contemporary Africa, this new adaptation loses nothing of the impact and power of Brecht and his take on war resonates just as powerfully in today's world.

This remarkable and brutal story is told through humour and song.

Mother Courage's story is one of choices and remains a powerful reminder of human resilience and loss in times of war.

An epic masterpiece of one woman's survival, it is very much a story for our time.

Mother Courage and the other characters often arouse pity, shock and even a certain admiration.

This version looks to re-awaken a sense of injustice and a desire to act on it, and to make clear Brecht's chilling warning that he who sups with the devil must use a long spoon.

Produced by the Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company, the production stars Carmen Munroe, a familiar face on British television for many years with credits including six series of Desmonds.

She returns to the stage after an absence of 12 years.

The play was commissioned especially for Eclipse Theatre which was founded in 2002 to raise the national profile of black middle-scale regional theatre in the UK.

Tickets from the box office on 01242 572573 or www.everymantheatre.org.uk