(LENOX, Mass.) — Fresh on the heels of her critically acclaimed performance in last summer’s production of The Tempest, Academy Award-winning actor Olympia Dukakis will return to Shakespeare & Company next summer to play the title role in Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, directed by company artistic director Tony Simotes. The production marks the second consecutive collaboration between Simotes and Dukakis, and her brother Apollo Dukakis, who will also be a featured player. The trio teamed up for last summer’s critically acclaimed production of The Tempest, which also featured OBIE Award winner Rocco Sisto, and sold out its entire run in Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse.

Mother Courage and Her Children will open next summer in the Tina Packer Playhouse. The dates for the run will be announced in December, along with Shakespeare & Company’s other mainstage productions, which will include at least two Shakespeare titles and a few other surprises and special engagements. At that time, a special ticket package will be offered for all mainstage productions.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic to have Olympia join us again for our 36th Season,” says Simotes. “Our collaboration on The Tempest proved to be a successful one both artistically and personally. It was another chapter in our rich history together, and I’m excited to continue writing that history next summer. Olympia has an infectious energy that inspires one’s artistic soul. She’s a dear friend and mentor. I’m eager to explore the depths of this fascinating play with her and Apollo, and once again share her immense talent with our audiences.”

Considered by some to be the greatest play of the 20th Century, Mother Courage and Her Children is set against the backdrop of the Thirty Years War and follows the fate of Mother Courage, an artful canteen woman with the Swedish Army, intent on keeping her business and family alive amid the destruction of war. Mother Courage and Her Children still resonates today as a profound insight into the moral implications of war.

“I had a terrific time last summer exploring The Tempest with Tony and the amazing cast and crew,” says Olympia Dukakis. “I consider Shakespeare & Company one of my artistic homes – a place of artistic support and enthusiasm. I jumped at the chance to get in the room with Tony and my brother again.”