"Mother Courage and Her Children" at USC's Drayton Hall Theatre April 17, 2009

Theatre South Carolina is proud to present David Hare's translation of Bertolt Brecht's "Mother Courage and Her Children," running from April 17 - 26 at Drayton Hall Theatre. Show times are 8pm Tuesday through Saturday, 3pm Sundays.

Call 777-2551 for ticket reservations or purchase in person at USC's Longstreet Theatre (Sumter and Greene Streets). Tickets are just $10 for students, $14 for USC Faculty/Staff, Military and Seniors, and $16 for general public. Tickets go on sale April 10th!

Class or group discounts are available! Call Kevin Bush at 777-9353 for more information.

This timeless indictment of war and its costs is considered one of the greatest works of the 20th century. Using Brecht’s distinct blend of affecting language and overt theatricality, the play centers around the legendary anti-heroine “Mother Courage,” a wily canteen woman who makes a living for herself and her three children by selling goods to troops during the Thirty Years War. Instead of profiting from the war, however, she finds herself and her children the victims of it.

USC acting professor Robyn Hunt will take the stage as the iconic Mother Courage, joining a first rate cast of MFA and undergraduate students. Columbia music legend Dick Goodwin is at the helm for musical direction, leading a talented combo and our own singing actors through Jonathan Dove's vibrant score.

Scenic design is by Craig Vetter. Sound for the production is being designed by Walter Clissen. Lighting designer for the production is Jim Hunter.

Director Steven Pearson says of the play's pertinent themes: "Doing this play at this time is especially appropriate, as we find ourselves dealing with concurrent and, arguably interrelated, wars and global economic crises. There’s a great quote by Peter Hanke which I think is perfect: ‘Real life should be the afterimage of the theatre.’ I hope that, after seeing this production, audience members have that moment of recognition where their real life reminds them of Brecht’s message that we cannot participate in the commerce of war and not be touched by it; we cannot rub up against war and not get hurt by it.”

Robyn Hunt adds, "I want people to know that although we perform the play at a moment when the U.S. is at war far across the globe, we are not taking a position for or against anything. We want people to come, talk with us, talk with each other, think...about the ambiguities, the difficulties of any decision as large as those that face people involved in any way with war."

Drayton Hall Theatre is located on Sumter Street, between College and Greene.

Official Website: http://www.cas.sc.edu/thea