1
of
1
Mother Courage and Her Children
Series: Modern Plays
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 22,895 ratings, 803 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2999
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
Mother Courage and Her Children
$2999
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Mother Courage is usually regarded as Brecht's masterpiece and remains to this day an epic indictment of the brutality of war. This translation by world-famous playwright Tony Kushner is spirited, lively and accessible for a modern audience.
National Theatre production September 2009.
Translation of Brecht's classic play, adapted by world-famous playwright Tony Kushner. The UK premiere will be a major new production at the National Theatre, running for 3 months in the Olivier auditorium. The National Theatre Bookshop have estimated that they will take between 600 and 1200 copies. Brecht is studied from GCSE upwards and is one of the central figures of modern world drama.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Mother Courage and Her Children was first performed in Zurich in 1941 and is usually seen as Brecht's greatest work. Remaining a powerful indictment of war and social injustice, it is an epic drama set in the seventeenth century during the Thirty Years' War.
The plot follows the resilient Mother Courage, who survives by running a commissary business that profits from all sides. As the war claims all of her children in turn, the play poignantly demonstrates that no one can profit from the war without being subject to its terrible cost as well.
This translation by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner is contemporary and lively, featuring accessible and humorous language, an easy conversational flow, and sympathetic, understandable characters. Kushner makes a classic play, which is notoriously difficult to perform, both stage and reader-friendly. It was staged at the National Theatre, directed by Deborah Warner and starring Fiona Shaw in September 2009.
Series: Modern Plays
View all-
The Play That Goes Wrong
Good evening. I’m Inspector Carter. Take my case. This must be Charles Haversham! I’m sorry, this must’ve given you all a damn shock. After benefitting from a large and sudden inheritance, the inept and accident-prone Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society embark on producing an ambitious 1920s murder mystery. They are delighted that neither casting issues nor technical hitches currently stand in...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and the capital cities. And every prime number up to 7507. Christopher, fifteen years old, stands beside Mrs Shears's dead dog. It has been speared with a garden fork, it is seven minutes after midnight, and Christopher is under suspicion. He records each fact in...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Punch
"Another state-of-the-nation masterpiece from James Graham" - The Telegraph One life has been wasted, because of this. Senseless, no reason at all. So where’s the sense in wasting another? If we can ‘help’ him? Jacob Dunne, a teenager from Nottingham, spends his Saturday nights seeking thrills with his friends. One fateful evening, an impulsive punch leads to fatal consequences. After...Paperback$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Emilia
Winner of the Noel Coward Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy at the 2020 Olivier Awards In 1611, Emilia Bassano wrote a volume of radical, feminist, and subversive poetry. It was one of the first published collections of poetry written by a woman in England. The little we know of Emilia Bassano is restricted to the possibility that she may...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Women of Troy
An industrial port of a war-torn city. Women survivors wait to be shipped abroad. Officials come and go. A grandmother, once Queen, watches as her remaining family are taken from her one by one. The city burns around them. The Women of Troy, Euripides' great anti-war tragedy, is published in Don Taylor's translation to coincide with the National Theatre's production...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Twelve Angry Men
New York, summer 1954Criminal Courts BuildingA man is deadThe life of another is at stakeA "guilty" verdict seems a foregone conclusion. But one member of the jury has the will to probe more deeply into the evidence and the courage to confront the ignorance and the prejudice of some of his fellow jurors. The conflict which follows is fierce and...Paperback$3299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children was first performed in Zurich in 1941 and is usually seen as Brecht's greatest work. Remaining a powerful indictment of war and social injustice, it is an epic drama set in the seventeenth century during the Thirty Years' War. The plot follows the resilient Mother Courage, who survives by running a commissary business that profits...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
An Experiment With An Air Pump
An Experiment with an Air Pump is Shelagh Stephenson's daring and thoughtful new play. 1799 - On the eve of a new century, the house buzzes with scientific experiments, furtive romance, and farcical amateur dramatics. 1999 - In a world of scientific chaos, cloning, and genetic engineering, the cellar of the same house reveals a dark secret buried for 200...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Little Women
Romantic Meg. Shy Beth. Wilful Amy. And, of course, passionate and fiery Jo. Little Women tells the story of the March sisters growing up in genteel poverty against the backdrop of the American Civil War. This timeless tale of four sisters' adventures has enchanted millions of readers, and is now available in this acclaimed adaptation for the stage.Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Hamnet
She’s like no one I’ve ever met... She’s like fire and water all at once. Warwickshire, 1582. Agnes Hathaway, a natural healer, meets the Latin tutor, William Shakespeare. Drawn together by powerful but hidden impulses, they create a life together and make a family. As William moves to London to discover his place in the world of theatre, Agnes stays...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
DNA
A group of teenagers do something bad, really bad, then panic and cover the whole thing up. But when they find that the cover-up unites them and brings harmony to their otherwise fractious lives, where’s the incentive to put things right? DNA is a poignant and, sometimes, hilarious tale with a very dark heart. A contemporary play for younger people,...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
When this adaptation of C. S. Lewis’s classic children’s story opened at the RSC Stratford in November 1998, it received rave reviews and broke box office records. Four children are evacuated from London during the Blitz. While exploring the Professor’s house, they stumble across the gateway to another world, and the adventure begins. The land of Narnia is under the...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Reviews praise Tony Kushner's translation of Mother Courage and Her Children for being lively, witty, and articulate. It is noted for capturing the essence of Brecht's intent, making the play feel vibrant and immediate. The translation is widely appreciated for its clarity and engaging quality, enhancing the impact of Brecht's work.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781408125755
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 16 September 2009
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Methuen Drama
Contributors:
- Translated by Tony Kushner
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 7.0mm
Width: 128.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 98g
Pages: 112
Collections
About the Author
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) is acknowledged as one of the great dramatists whose plays, work with the Berliner Ensemble and writing have had a considerable influence on the theatre. His landmark plays include The Threepenny Opera and, while exiled from Germany and living in the USA, such masterpieces as The Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Tony Kushner is best known for his two-part epic, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. His other plays include: A Bright Room Called Day, Slavs!, Hydrotaphia, Homebody/Kabul and the musical Caroline or Change for which he wrote book and lyrics, with music by composer Jeanine Tesori. In addition to Mother Courage, Kushner has translated The Good Person of Sezuan, Pierre Corneille's The Illusion, S.Y. Ansky's The Dybbuk and the English-language libretto for the children's opera Brundibar by Hans Krasa. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols' film of Angels In America, and Steven Spielberg's Munich. Tony Kushner is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, an Emmy Award, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, an Oscar nomination, an Arts Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, among many others. Most recently, Caroline or Change received the Evening Standard Award, the London Drama Critics' Circle Award and the Olivier Award for Best Musical.
Also by Bertolt Brecht
View all-
Aesthetics and Politics
Delve into the profound and influential Marxist aesthetic debates that shaped the course of 20th-century intellectual history with Aesthetics and Politics. This seminal work assembles the pivotal texts of the great Marxist controversies over literature and art that took place between the 1930s and 1950s in German culture—an era that witnessed an unparalleled tradition of major aesthetic discourse. The book...Paperback$2499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Collected Short Stories of Bertolt Brecht
Everyone knows that Bertolt Brecht was one of the great 20th-century innovators in theatre - the literary-theatrical equivalent of a Picasso or Stravinsky - and Germany's greatest poet of the last century, but the playwright was also a dazzling writer of stories. Storytelling permeated his art as a dramatist; fundamentally, in his plays, he was a storyteller. Collected Short Stories...Paperback$5899Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Tales of Mr. Keuner
From the 1920s through the 1950s, Bertolt Brecht wrote a number of short, fictionalised comments on contemporary life, politics, and thought. Through the dramatic events of the first half of the twentieth century, Brecht’s Mr. Keuner offered up aphorisms, stray thoughts, and fragments of anecdote that punctured contemporary self-regard about religion, politics, business, and more. Deceptively light in tone, and...Paperback$4099Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Mother Courage and Her Children
In this chronicle of the European Thirty Years War, taking place between the years 1624 and 1636, Mother Courage follows the armies back and forth across Europe, selling provisions and liquor from her canteen wagon to whomever she can. One by one she loses her children to the war but will not part with her livelihood—the wagon. The Berlin production...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Fear and Misery of the Third Reich
Also known as The Private Life of the Master Race, this is a sequence of twenty-four realistic sketches showing how "ordinary" life under the Nazis was subtly permeated by suspicion and anxiety. Written in exile in Denmark and first staged in 1938, it was inspired in part by Brecht's recent trip to Moscow where he had been researching tasks for...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Mother Courage and Her Children
This new Student Edition, featuring the classic John Willett translation of the play, includes an introduction by Katherine Hollander, which explores the following: Contexts: Thirty Years War (1618-1648); World War II and exile; sources; influential figures such as Brecht, Margarete Steffin, Helene Weigel, and Karin Michaelis. Themes: War, nature, capitalism. Dramatic devices: Epic theatre. Production history and critical reception. Academic...Paperback$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
Written in exile during the Second World War, the story of Brecht's classic play, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, subverts an ancient Chinese tale—echoed in the Judgement of Solomon—in which two women claim the same child. The message of Brecht's parable is that resources should go to those who will make the best use of them. Thanks to the rascally judge,...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
Brecht projects an ancient Chinese story onto a realistic setting in Soviet Georgia. In a theme that echoes the Judgment of Solomon, two women argue over the possession of a child. Thanks to the unruly judge, Azdak (one of Brecht's most vivid creations), natural justice is done and the peasant Grusha keeps the child she loves, even though she is...Paperback$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Fear and Misery of the Third Reich
Brecht's series of twenty-four interconnected playlets describe events which took place in ordinary German households in the 1930s. They dramatise with clinical precision the suspicion and anxiety experienced by ordinary people, particularly Jewish citizens, as the power of Hitler grew. Written in exile in Denmark and first staged in 1938, it was inspired in part by his recent trip to...Paperback$3299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Mother Courage and Her Children
This version of Brecht's great anti-war play by playwright David Hare was premiered by the National Theatre, London, in November 1995. It adopts a freer approach to the text than many editions, adapting the original rather than offering a close translation. In this chronicle of the Thirty Years War, Mother Courage follows the armies back and forth across Europe, selling...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
Described by Brecht as 'a gangster play that would recall certain events familiar to us all', Arturo Ui is a witty and savage satire of the rise of Hitler. Brecht recasts it into a fictional, small-time Chicago gangster's takeover of the city's greengrocery trade in the 1930s. The satirical allegory combines Brecht's Epic style of theatre with black comedy and...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
This Student Edition of Brecht's classic satire on the rise of Hitler features an extensive introduction and commentary that includes a plot summary, discussion of the context, themes, characters, style and language as well as questions for further study and notes on words and phrases in the text. It is the perfect edition for students of theatre and literature. Described...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
More from Arts & Culture
View all-
Dylan's PickBold Types
A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...Hardback$5500Elsewhere:$7000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 1 week -
New ReleaseDisney Moana: The Official Cookbook
Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...Hardback$4499Elsewhere:$5299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
This Angry Pen of Mine
This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...Hardback$7299Elsewhere:$8999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
They Bloom Because of You
Bestselling author and Instagram sensation Jessica Urlichs returns with a new collection of beautifully observed poems about the ever-evolving journey of motherhood - the hard, the magic and the fleeting. ‘A raw and honest read that makes you feel seen and understood in a way that will bring you to tears.’ - Hilary Swank ‘A book to keep close and...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Leaves of Grass
A collectible new Penguin Classics series offers beautiful, slim, clothbound editions of ten favourite poets. In 1855, Walt Whitman published his first collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. The volume received great praise from leading Transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This encouragement led to what would become a lifelong project, as Whitman expanded and rewrote the volume until his death...Hardback$2200Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Great Writers and the Cats who Owned Them
Throughout history, cats and writers have bonded together in a magical combination of comfort, companionship and inspiration. The famous authors featured here range from Samuel Johnson, whose cat Hodge dined on oysters, and Edward Lear, whose charismatic cat Foss was missing half his tail, to Margaret Mitchell, L. M. Montgomery and Dorothy L. Sayers, who rescued her kitten Blitz from...Hardback$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Beautiful Chaos
The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Selected poems from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'These words awaken the magic of life by celebrating the ordinary.' - Giovanna Fletcher Motherhood is messy and beautiful, and hard and humbling. We adore our children and sometimes we miss ourselves. Beautiful Chaos is a collection of raw, honest poems about motherhood, capturing everything...Paperback$2900Elsewhere:$3500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Odyssey
Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....PaperbackSold Out -
To the Women - The New Collection of Wise Words Every Woman Needs
THE COMPLETELY UPDATED COLLECTION WITH OVER 70 BRAND NEW POEMS, FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WILD HOPE AND WORDS TO LIVE BY 'Amazing . . . Donna's words speak to my heart' Davina McCall To the Women is a celebration of the beauty, strength, and joy of being a woman. A love letter to our deep capacity...Hardback$2999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour
The creative journey continues with Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour by Keri Smith, the latest and most vibrant edition of the groundbreaking series that redefined journaling. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, this edition brings the playful destructiveness of the original to life in dazzling full colour, adding a dynamic new dimension to the beloved prompts. Whether you're a seasoned Wreck-er,...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
A Thousand Feasts
THE INSTANT #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER From award-winning writer Nigel Slater, comes a new and exquisitely written collection of notes, memoir, stories and small moments of joy. 'Nigel Slater’s prose is the rarest delicacy of all: exquisite yet effortless, filled with heart, tenderness, yearning and humour' ELIZABETH DAY For years, Nigel Slater has kept notebooks of curiosities and wonderings, penned...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Did I Ever Tell You This?
In this unexpected memoir, written in a creative burst of just a few months in 2022, Sam Neill tells the story of how he became one of the world’s most celebrated actors, who has worked with everyone from Meryl Streep to Isabel Adjani, from Jeff Goldblum to Sean Connery, from Steven Spielberg to Jane Campion. By his own account, his...PaperbackSold Out
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
