‘Mother Courage and Her Children’ at Shilpakala today

Drama and dramatics department of Jahangirnagar University will stage its production ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’ today at 7 pm at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The play will be stage as a part of the week-long ‘Syed Badruddin Hossain Smriti Natya Utsab’ (Syed Badruddin Hossain Memorial Theatre Festival) organised by Padatik Natya Sangsad.

Written by German playwright Bertolt Brecht, the play ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’, has been directed by the university’s drama and dramatics department associate professor Reza Arif.

The play is set in the 17th century in Europe during the Thirty Years’ War. The Recruiting Officer and Sergeant are introduced, both complaining about the difficulty of recruiting soldiers to the war. Anna Fierling (Mother Courage) enters pulling a cart containing provisions for sale to soldiers, and introduces her children Eilif, Kattrin, and Schweizerkas.

The plot revolves around a woman who depends on war for her personal survival and who is nicknamed Mother Courage for her coolness in safeguarding her merchandise under enemy fire. The deaths of her three children, one by one, do not interrupt her profiteering.

As a part of the festival, Baguiati Nritya Mandir (India) will stage its production Silence at the National Theatre Hall of BSA, while Natyam Repertory will stage their production ‘Solitary Confinement’ at the Studio Theatre Hall today at the same time.