Strollers Theatre
Abigail Hindle as Kattrin stands on stage looking forlorn with bleak backdrop.
Abigail Hindle as Kattrin in Strollers Theatre's 2024 production of 'Mother Courage and her Children.'
Mother Courage and Her Children is a thought-provoking play that, while dealing with heavy topics, is also upbeat and entertaining. Marxist playwright Bertolt Brecht wrote Mother Courage in 1939 in resistance to the rise of Nazism and Fascism in his home of Germany. The story takes place two centuries earlier during Europe’s Thirty Years’ War, following businesswoman Mother Courage as she sells wares to soldiers and tries to keep her three children alive. Strollers Theatre’s rendition brings contemporary relevance to the story, using a multi-media format to explore Americans’ complicity in global violence and exploitation. The show runs through Feb. 24 at the Bartell Theatre.
The narrative begins in 1624 Sweden, where we meet headstrong Anna Fierling, known as Mother Courage (Stephanie Monday), as she peddles her wares to soldiers across the war-torn landscape. Though she is cunning and resourceful, Mother Courage struggles to keep her three children, Kattrin (Abigail Hindle), Eiliff (Soren Campbell), and Swiss Cheese (Jacob Bortell), safe from the brutal realities of war over the course of 12 years (1624-1636).
Stephanie Monday’s portrayal of Mother Courage is masterful, witty and captivating.
For a play that grapples with the atrocities of war, her performance peppers the show with surprising moments of humor. Within the first three minutes of the show, Monday uses hand gestures to make two dick jokes, and when a sergeant asks to see her papers, she opens a box of scraps and replies. “Here we are, every paper I’ve got. Look, some pages of the Bible. Great for wrapping pickles in.” She immediately makes her take on the war clear: though supposedly a “religious” conflict between Catholics and Protestants, war is simply good for business.
The entire cast does a fantastic job keeping the stage energized throughout the 100-minute performance. Abigail Hindle deserves a shout-out for her portrayal of Kattrin, the mute daughter. Though she doesn’t speak a single line, Hindle uses facial expressions and body language to convey a compelling internal journey that culminates in a satisfying moment of heroic defiance.
A notable aspect of this production is its multimedia elements, which connect the 17th century story to contemporary global war and social movements. Throughout the show, projected images show scenes from World War II and the Holocaust, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ’60s, the gay liberation movement of the 1960s to ’80s, the Russia-Ukraine war, the war in Afghanistan, the current Israel-Hamas war conflict in Gaza, and contemporary protests for Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ rights.
The war photos are the most compelling and do help create a connection between Brecht’s anti-war message and contemporary anti-war movements. The purpose of the social movement imagery is less clear because Mother Courage and Her Children does not address issues of racism, homophobia or transphobia.
Some of the war imagery makes sense only with additional context. During a scene in which Kattrin suffers a disfiguring head injury, the 1972 photo, “The Terror of War,” freezes on the screen for several uncomfortable minutes. The Pulitzer Prize-winning image shows terrified children, including 9-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phùc, naked and burned, running from an aerial napalm attack during the Vietnam War. In an interview with The World in 2018, Kim Phùc shares that she worried her scars would mean that she would never find love or get married — which is the fate that comes true for Kattrin. That won’t be immediately clear to most audience members.
Despite occasional shortcomings in the multimedia display, Strollers Theatre's rendition of Mother Courage and Her Children remains a powerful and entertaining experience. The play is worth a watch for the stellar performances alone — but the show’s contemporary connections will keep audiences thinking about its themes long after curtain call.
Editor's note: This article has been corrected to reflect that the multimedia images do include photos from the current conflict in Gaza.
