The Good Person Of Sichuan

This play, written during Brecht's exile to the United States and set in pre-Communist China, is a parable of a young woman torn between obligation and reality, between love and practicality, and between her own needs and those of her friends and neighbours. Three gods come to earth hoping to discover one truly good person. No one can be found until they meet Shen Te, a prostitute with a heart of gold. Rewarded by the gods, she gives up her profession and buys a tobacco shop, but finds it is impossible to be a good person in a corrupt world without the support of her ruthless alter ego, Shui Ta.