The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Few authors have had such a dramatic effect as Bertolt Brecht. His work hashelped to shape a generation of writers theatergoers and thinkers. His playsare studi... » 

Few authors have had such a dramatic effect as Bertolt Brecht. His work hashelped to shape a generation of writers theatergoers and thinkers. His playsare studied worldwide as texts that changed the face of theater.The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a parable inspired by the Chinese play ChalkCircle. Written at the close of World War II the story is set in the CaucasusMountains of Georgia. It retells the tale of King Solomon and a child claimedby and fought over by two mothers. But this chalk circle is metaphoricallydrawn around a society misdirected in its priorities. Brechts statements aboutclass are cloaked in the innocence of a fable that whispers insistently to theaudience.No translations of Brechts work are as reliable and compelling as EricBentleys. These versions are widely viewed as the standard renderings ofBrechts work ensuring that future generations of readers will come in closecontact with the work of a playwright who introduced a new way of thinkingabout the theater. «