Mother Courage and Her Children

After reading an article like this, how could I not add Ibsen & Brecht's plays to our reading list for EN 202?

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=34341

But why are these theater critics so concerned about DC theaters' restricting themselves to English-language playwrights and their works?  Why do they want local theaters to produce works by playwrights like Ibsen, Brecht, or, more importantly, those active in Eastern Europe, Latin America, or the Middle East?

Let's start with this biography of Brecht with its overview of his career and his approach to theater.  Note that he was reacting against an emotional, realistic theater and striving for one that was more politically and intellectually engaged.  Note as well that Mother Courage and Her Children comes out of the period of time leading up to WWII.  At that point, Brecht had already escaped from Nazi Germany.

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/brecht.htm

Brandeis University has reprinted this article on Brecht's epic theater, which explains his approach in more detail:

http://www.cs.brandeis.edu/~jamesf/goodwoman/brecht_epic_theater.html

For more information about Brechtian theater, see this set of pages from the University of Southern Australia.  In fact, the link will go to a table of contents, making for a more efficient blog entry. 

http://www.usq.edu.au/performancecentre/education/goodwomanofszechwan/brechtandtheatre.htm

This site from Cambridge's American Repertory Theater includes a brief summary of the play as well as a cast list and photographs:

http://www.amrep.org/past/courage/courage.html

More importantly, here is a link to Gideon Lester's history of the play's successful (and unsuccessful) performances:

http://www.amrep.org/past/courage/courage2.html

ART's production is reviewed here:

http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/arts/theater/documents/00630946.htm

Here is a review of the Steppenwolf Theater's production from about the same time:

http://www.artscope.net/PAREVIEWS/mothercourage101801.shtml

Recently, the playwright Tony Kushner translated Brecht's play into English for the production pictured at the top of this entry:

http://www.hotreview.org/articles/tonykushneronmc.htm

Peter Marks reviewed this production (in NYC) for the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/22/AR2006082201436.html

The theater company that Brecht himself founded, The Berliner Ensemble, performed Mother Courage at a festival in Iran:

http://iranfacts.blogspot.com/2008/02/mother-courage-and-her-children-brecht.html

Ah, here are some posts about Mother Courage in Charlottesville!

http://cvillemuse.com/2008/04/02/mother-courage-and-her-children/

http://www.dailyprogress.com/cdp/entertainment/theatre_arts/article/mother_putting_cart_before_her_heart/7717/

The URL below links to a podcast interview with the production's director:

http://www.cvillepodcast.com/2008/03/27/mother-courage-and-her-children/

And here is a picture from the production in Charlottesville.