Michael Cox speaks with the star of the current production of Mother Courage and her Children.
Michael Cox: There seems to be much debate within the theatre community about this character. Is she sympathetic, misguided, greedy, etc? Tell me about how you see the character of Mother Courage.
Alison Peebles: I see her as someone who will do anything and everything to survive. She doesn't see the war in political terms but from a completely personal point of view which may well be selfish, cold-hearted and greedy. She is indomitable. She will not be crushed and will always find something to turn to her advantage in the worst of situations. And yes, that is often at a cost to others, which makes her all of the above, but in playing her I don't judge her or justify her actions.
MC: Do you have any past experience with either Mother Courage or Brecht?
AP: My only experience with this play is seeing a couple of productions of Mother Courage many years ago, both quite different and both very long. I haven't studied Brecht in any depth but know the importance of his work as a writer and theatre-maker. His plays were written as direct response to the theatre of the day, he wanted to get away from artifice and decoration and Mother Courage was written during the rise of Hitler and the beginning of the Second World War. As a result, theatre changed radically, but today we have many different styles of theatre and are not even restricted to playing on stages with sets.
I was in Deborah Warner's Production of Good Person of Sichuan at The National Theatre in London with Fiona Shaw which is the the only other Brecht play I have been in.
My reservations of taking on the role were that there has been so much written and discussed about Brecht, his writing and theatre philosophy that you can get completely bogged down in the academic - eg, this is the way you should play Brecht, this is alienation technique etc. I don't find this practical or helpful to interpreting a character and bringing a script to life.
MC: What challenges have you faced in playing her? Do you perhaps feel different towards her as an actor than as you would as an audience member?
AP: There's always a bit of fear in taking on a part of this size, but at the same time there is a thrill and excitement in the challenge. We had a very short rehearsal period for a play of this complexity and character of this size, and the natural worry is “Can I do it? Will I be able to achieve it physically, particularly with my health? In such a short time, with a small cast, would I be able to get near to playing the range of the character?”
I create the character from the inside using the script as the skeleton, which is fleshed out during rehearsal and performance. I don't see her as an external character; I see the world of the play through her eyes.
The audience will perceive Mother Courage differently because they see all the consequences of my actions on the other characters through the journey of the play. They find out things Mother Courage and other characters may not know and, because they have the whole picture, will respond to her differently as a result.
MC: Is there anything you have to do differently in portraying a character in a Brecht play than in any other playwright’s work?
AP: NO! Only if I was in a production that is trying to re-create a piece as it was done originally as a piece of history.
MC: Have you done any research, on the character’s history, Brecht, the original production or past portrayals of Mother Courage?
AP: I don't look at past portrayals as I don't want to be influenced by past productions or other people's interpretations. I would do more research into the history if this production aimed to recreate the Brechtian style in the original Berliner Ensemble production.
MC: I certainly know that you learn more about a play and its characters in rehearsal than in any previous reading or research. Has there been any major discovery for yourself in the play, your character or something else?
AP: I have learned that things are never as simple or as as straightforward as they seem. None of us know how we would cope in situations of terror, war, oppression unless we have direct experience, and we may be surprised by our reactions.
I am still discovering more about Mother Courage as a character. I could play her again and again in different productions and still have more to learn. It is more fascinating to play a character who is considered unsympathetic and monstrous. The challenge is to make her interesting and appealing even when an audience find her repellent and unlikeable. I relish playing the different aspects of her and finding my own rationale for her behaviour.
RSS