The Rose Theatre, Kingston – until 22 October 2022
Reviewed by Bobbi Fenton
5*****
‘The Caucasian Chalk Circle’ is a phenomenal play, about war, corruption, and the fight for survival when your life is turned upside down. Despite the play being written by Brecht, and inspired by his time in Germany in the 1920’s and 1930s, it is just as relevant today in the current political climate. Set in a refugee camp with the refugees themselves being tasked to perform, this play within a play excellently addresses the fact that they are performing in a way that breaks down barriers between the actors and the audience. The music within the play is beautifully drawn from many different cultures and perfectly encapsulates the feeling of family found from all over that is at the very centre of the story. The songs are led by the wonderful singer (Zoe West), who’s role is mostly as an unconventional narrator, although the second act does involve more ‘Brechtian’ acting.
When the rich Governors wife (Joanna Kirkland) is forced to flee her home as the revolution starts and her husband is decapitated, in the chaos of everything, her baby Michael, is left behind by everyone. He is later found by one of the palace staff members, Grusha Vashnadez (Carrie Hope Fletcher), who risks her own survival to take the child with her, and raise him, evading capture by the people who wanted the child dead, since he was an heir to the governor. Grusha raises this baby as her own, doing everything she can to ensure both of their survival, including marrying a ‘dying’ man so people didn’t think she had a child out of wedlock. This later causes issues with her fiancé Simon (Nickcolia King-N’da), who returns from the war towards the end of the play. At the end, the corrupt new judge, Azdak (Jonathan Slinger) invents a test, called the chalk circle test, to figure out the child’s true mother, and decide whether Grusha will keep custody of Michael, or whether the Governors wife will get him back. The entire cast are incredibly talented, using a lot of multirole throughout to show the range of really varied characters.
Consisting of many dramatic moments, a multifaceted plot, and some brilliantly timed humour, this play is an absolute masterpiece. There is no possible combination of words that could fully express the true brilliance of ‘The Caucasian Chalk Circle’.