Brecht projects an ancient Chinese story onto a realistic setting in Soviet Georgia. In a theme that echoes the Judgment of Solomon, two women argue over the possession of a child. Thanks to the unruly judge, Azdak (one of Brecht's most vivid creations) natural justice is done and the peasant Grusha keeps the child she loves, even though she is not its mother.
Written while Brecht was in exile in the United States during the Second World War,
The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a politically charged, much-revived and complex example of Brecht's epic theatre.
This new Student Edition contains introductory commentary and notes by Kristopher Imbrigotta from the University of Puget Sound, US, offering a much-needed contemporary perspective on the play.
The introduction covers:
- narrative structure: play about a play within a play ("circle")
- songs and music
- justice and social systems
- context: Brecht, exile, WWII, socialism
- notions of collective and class
- fable and story adaptation, folk fairy tale
Brecht, Bertolt: -
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) is acknowledged as one of the great dramatists whose plays, work with the Berliner Ensemble and critical writings have had a considerable influence on the theatre. His landmark plays include The Threepenny Opera, Fear and Misery of the Third Reich, The Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and Her Children and The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
Imbrigotta, Kristopher: - Kristopher Imbrigotta is Assistant Professor of German Studies at the University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, USA). His research and teaching cover literature and cultural studies from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing primarily on theater history and drama pedagogy; visual culture and film; memory discourses and literary historiography; and environmental humanities. He is co-editor of the performance journal Communications of the International Brecht Society and an elected member of the steering committee for the Brecht Society. He is also a member of the international translation team for the latest edition of Brecht on Theater (2014).
Megson, Chris: - Chris Megson is Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London. He has taught and published widely in the field of modern drama, and is editor of The Methuen Drama Book of Naturalist Plays. Other works include: Get Real: Documentary Theatre Past and Present (with Alison Forsyth, 2011), and Modern British Playwriting: The 70s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations (2012).
Nichols, Matthew: - Matthew Nichols graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2003 and has been teaching and leading outstanding Drama and Performing Arts departments for over a decade. Matthew also has extensive experience at a senior level with several exam boards, and was responsible for writing one of the reformed GCSE qualifications in Drama. In addition, Matthew works with schools, colleges, universities and theatres across the country. Matthew is a successful and sought after Drama education consultant, and was one of the founders of Drama Defined, which specialises in delivering high quality Drama education courses to staff and students. Matthew is currently Head of Drama at Manchester Grammar School. You can reach him on Twitter @matthew_drama.
Stevens, Jenny: - Jenny Stevens was an Associate Lecturer for the Open University and currently combines educational consultancy work with teaching and writing. She is the co-author with Pamela Bickley of Essential Shakespeare: The Arden Guide to Text and Interpretation (2013) and Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama: Text and Performance (2016).
