In this chronicle of the Thirty Years War, Mother Courage follows the armies back and forth across Europe, selling provisions and liquor from her canteen wagon. One by one she loses her children to the war but will not part with her livelihood - the wagon. The Berlin production of 1949, with Helene Weigel as Mother Courage, marked the foundation of the Berliner Ensemble.

Considered by many to be one of the greatest anti-war plays ever written and Brecht's masterpiece, this edition published in Methuen Drama's Modern Classics series offer a full introduction. A powerful example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is also accompanied by Brecht's own notes and textual variants.