Based on an old Chinese story, Brecht’s play, written in 1944, was originally set in the Soviet Union but in this modern version it will be set in a timeless Eastern European State, ravaged by civil war. The prologue is an argument about landownership and post-war government intervention. The villagers of the affected territory however distract the government official, sent to take their land away, by putting on a play within the play, which becomes the “main event”. Also set in a civil war torn land it is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a better mother than its wealthy natural parents.
