The Caucasian Chalk Circle

May 4, 2016

Gonzo Youth Theatre present The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Berthold Brecht on Friday 15th & Saturday 16th April 2016 at 8pm in Town hall, Cavan. Translated by Frank McGuinness.

Synopsis

“Terrible is the temptation to do good.” Blood runs through the streets and the Governor’s severed head is squared on the end of a lance. A young servant girl must make a choice: save her own skin or sacrifice everything to rescue an abandoned child. A time of terror followed by a time of peace. Order has been restored and the Governor’s wife returns to reclaim the son she left behind. Now the choice is the judge’s: who is the real mother of the forgotten child?

Directors Note

Following on from the success of last year’s production of Simon Bent’s play ‘Shelter’ we decided to tackle one of the classics of modern theatre. “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” by Bertolt Brecht with a translation by our own Frank McGuinness is a good example of Brecht’s ‘Epic Theatre’. The story explores what happens when the law conflicts with justice and asks questions about who is right and wrong in complicated situations.

Brecht is arguably the 20th Century’s single most important influencer on theatre. In his career he wrote several plays that have come to be well known and respected including The Threepenny Opera (with Kurt Weill), Mother Courage and Her Children, The Life of Galileo, The Good Woman of Setzuan and The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Brecht also wrote about the theatre; these theoretical writings have effected what our theatre looks and sounds like ever since.