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Review of The Caucasian Chalk Circle

By Carly Warrington for Southampton Design and style Magazine

 

If you’re a fan of Bertolt Brecht’s work performed at its powerful, pulsating best then The Blackeyed Theatre Company’s spring  tour of one of Brecht’s most beloved plays,The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a must see performance. The play is a parable about the notion of rightful ownership and justice, set in the Soviet Union towards the end of the Second World War amidst an atmosphere of volatile political turmoil.

 

Brecht’s production uses the dramatic device of ‘play within a play,’ with the opening prologue exploring a village’s dispute over a piece of land which becomes available after the German soldiers who occupied it are forced to flee Russia. The play then progresses to its main narrative, depicting the journey of Grusha Vashnadze, a poor maid who takes ownership of an aristocratic baby who is abandoned by his biological mother amidst an uprising that has claimed her husband’s life. The play explores the consequences of Grusha’s choice, depicting her hardships and self-sacrifices as she evades the forces that are searching for the young prince in waiting.

 

Directed by Tom Neill and translated by Frank McGuinness, the performance at Portsmouth’s New Theatre Royal was superbly acted by a small cast of five who handled their numerous role changes with effortless ease thanks, in part, to innovative use of staging and props. Particular praise must be awarded to Anna Glynn who, via the aid of a striking mask, was able to play both of the warring mothers in the play. The use of character doubling enabled Glynn to successfully convey the contrasting natures of both women,emphasising this division by displaying the wilful but kind hearted nature of Grusha and the cruel, self-interested inclinations of Natella Abashvili, the child’s biological mother. The speed and finesse of her character changes were highly impressive, with Glynn sustaining the intensity and conviction she brought to both of the women she portrayed.

 

Furthermore, the play integrated a variety of  innovative props, costume changes and striking masks that helped to make the play distinctly Brechtian, enhancing the sense of alienation or ‘making strange,’ that is so fundamental to displaying Brecht authentically. The masks used were particularly effective in distancing the audience from connecting emotionally with the characters, as well as the use of a violin which represented the child so lovingly cared for by Grusha. These Brechtian techniques were further enhanced by Paul Taylor’s engaging portrayal of ‘The Singer’ whose songs worked to effectively drive the narrative forward and establish himself as the narrator of the play. He successfully made his character personable and comic in the small parts he played, providing light relief that the audience clearly relished. The effectiveness of these techniques enabled the audience to focus upon Brecht’s political message and feel a part of something that transcended being simply a dramatic theatrical production. Rather than identifying with the characters on purely an emotional level (thought this of course, is unavoidable and important) the audience were encouraged to feel as if they were a part of the climatic final scenes depicting the court proceedings which would effectively decide who should be allowed to take rightful ownership of the child. I for one felt myself rationally observing the scenes that were displayed, judging the scene as if I were a part of a vast jury willing to see justice be done.

 

This production so effectively created a forum that encouraged the audience to develop a political consciousness, aligning itself with the aims of Brecht himself and successfully historicising its political missive. To further emphasise this message,the company projected modern, political images which encapsulated the themes of the play: those of war, justice and rightful ownership. Additionally this device made these issues current to society today, further encouraging the audience to place these issues contextually with those we face today, emphasising the timelessness of Brecht’s Caucasian Chalk Circle. All in all, the performance was outstanding, handled by an extremely capable cast who displayed the complexities of Brecht’s masterpiece superbly, staying loyal to Brecht’s practice of epic theatre whilst being thoroughly engaging throughout.