I watched this in recording here, courtesy of the Berliner Ensemble. You can view it until May 21.
There is a pace about this production, right off the top, which feels aggressive, forceful, necessary. Supported by a revolve (I’m told, run by de-commissioned Soviet tank wheels), pulling an enormous wagon across the stage, Mother Courage and her Children race to. . . to what? Immediately the big questions of the play are apparent. What are they doing? Why? What purpose does it serve?
From here, as each son leaves, as tragedy befalls Kattrin, as Courage’s life falls apart, yet she keeps pressing on, the pace slows, ever so subtly. Hints of the slowness emerge in Weigel’s silent scream, or other moments, yet she presses on. Yet by time we reach the final moments of Weigel, alone on stage with her cart, slowly preparing to press on again, we are deeply aware of the weight of these things on this woman. The weight of war, of children, of responsibility, of death. . all visible on her shoulders as she picks up the wagon and begins to pull. It is excruciating to watch her circle the stage before exiting.
It was an utter treat to see Brecht’s own interpretation of this material. The manipulation of our sense of time and what time does to these characters was notable; similarly, my own endurance as a viewer was tested. At just under 3 hours, the production challenged me to sit, to watch, to wait. The contradiction between characters moving slowly and those moving quickly, the interspersed songs, the titles and running text between scenes— all caused me to be aware of the artifice, yet Weigel’s (and other) performance was so visceral. The conflict of feeling empathy toward her, and anger toward the system she perpetuates and profits from was palpable.
It is worth noting that this is in German, with no subtitles. Honestly, you don’t need them. Watch and enjoy.