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Overview

Synopsis

Amongst the rubble of a bombed out village in the Caucasus Mountains, in the Soviet Republic of Georgia, an expert from the State Reconstruction Committee has come to meet with the members of two kolchos, (sometimes translated kolkhoz) or collective farms. At stake is the fate of a valley in the aftermath of World War II. The Galinsk kolchos villagers, who raise goats and used the valley before the war, wish to reclaim the land for grazing, while the Rosa Luxemburg kolchos villagers are fruit growers and want to plant an orchard. The Rosa Luxemburg farmers have proposed a plan to irrigate the valley and exponentially increase the productivity of the land. To support their claim, the fruit farmers have hired a famous local singer and prepared a play with music, The Chalk Circle, based on a Chinese parable. After this frame is established, Brecht never fully returns us to the meeting of the kolchos, instead, he focuses on the play within the play for remaining five scenes; a classic five-act epic structure. The story begins in the midst of a revolution, the Governor is executed, and his wife must flee. In the chaos, their infant son Michael is left behind. When no one else will take responsibility for the child, a servant named Grusha takes him up and goes on the run. The next three years unfold in a series of episodes showing how Grusha and Michael survive. As always, Brecht explores contradictions in his work, prying open the two sides to every transaction and probing the reasons people act against their own self-interest, while others blindly pursue it. Grusha nearly leaves the baby with a peasant couple, but cannot, against her better judgement. As Brecht wrote in his notes, “The more Grusha does to save the child’s life, the more she endangers her own,” (Brecht, Collected Plays: Seven 304). She takes refuge with her brother for a time, but is not welcomed by her sister-in-law, and though she had promised to wait for her true love Simon Chachava, she must marry someone else so she and Michael can survive. The story shifts gears and we learn how Azdak, a clever but corrupt judge, has used his wits to keep his position during the years of revolution and war, and finally after the restoration of the old regime. Ultimately it is he who will hear the suit of the Governor’s wife, who has returned from exile and wants her son back. If she can prove Michael is hers, he is the key to power and will be heir to the dead Governor’s estate. With a habit of drinking on the job, a propensity for taking bribes, and a reputation for ruling in favor of the underdog, Azdak must decide which mother has a better claim to the child’s custody, or rather he must determine, “the child’s claim to the better mother.” He devises the chalk circle test, a circle is drawn on the floor around Michael, and the two contestant mothers must each take a hand and try to pull the boy out. When Grusha lets go, it is clear that she is the better mother. Though the villager’s performance of The Chalk Circle is a parable for the kolchos’ disputed valley, the broader play, The Caucasian Chalk Circle offers a way of thinking about ownership and property, and the individual’s greater responsibility to the collective good, what Brecht called, a “potentially model attitude,” in the context of rebuilding a European continent which had been devastated by war—in both land and spirit. Authorship is shared with Brecht’s long time, and often uncredited, collaborator, Ruth Berlau.

Show Information

Category
Play
Age Guidance
Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
Number of Acts
6
First Produced
1948
Genres
Drama
Settings
Simple/No Set
Time & Place
caucasus mountains, grusinia, republic of georgia, post wwii
Cast Size
large
Ideal For
Mostly Male Cast, Includes Mature Adult, Adult, Young Adult, Early Teen, Child, Elderly Characters, Large Cast

Context

Plot


Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Simon Chachava (or Shashava)

Lead

Male

Grusha Vachnadze (or Vashnadze)

Lead

Female

Azdak

Lead

Male

Natella Abashvili (or Abashwili)

Supporting

Female

Michael Abashvili (or Abashwili)

Supporting

Male

Shalva

Supporting

Male

Arsen Kazbeki

Supporting

Male

Yussup (Jussup)

Supporting

Male

Shauva (Shauwa)

Supporting

Male

Lavrenti Vachnadze

Supporting

Male

Arkadi Cheidze

Featured

Male

An old peasant, right

Ensemble

Male

A peasant woman, right

Ensemble

Female

A young peasant

Ensemble

Male

A very young workman

Ensemble

Male

An old peasant, left

Ensemble

Male

A peasant woman, left

Ensemble

Female

The agronomist (Agriculturalist Kato)

Ensemble

Female

The girl tractor driver (Girl Tractorist)

Ensemble

Female

The wounded soldier

Ensemble

Male

The expert (The Delegate)

Ensemble

Male

Niko Mikadze

Ensemble

Male

Mikha Loladze (Mika)

Ensemble

Male

Three Architects

Ensemble

Either Gender

Four Chambermaids

Ensemble

Female

A nurse

Ensemble

Female

A chef

Ensemble

Male

A cook

Ensemble

Female

A stableman

Ensemble

Male

Ironshirts

Ensemble

Male

The old peasant with the milk

Ensemble

Male

The Elder Lady

Ensemble

Female

The Younger Lady

Ensemble

Female

The innkeeper

Ensemble

Male

A servant

Ensemble

Male

A corporal

Ensemble

Male

A peasant woman

Ensemble

Female

The peasant

Ensemble

Male

The stableman

Ensemble

Male

The peasant woman

Ensemble

Female

Brother Anastasius (Monk)

Ensemble

Male

The doctor

Ensemble

Male

The invalid

Ensemble

Male

The limping man

Ensemble

Male

The blackmailer

Ensemble

Male

Ludovica

Ensemble

Female

The old woman

Ensemble

Female

Irakli

Ensemble

Male

Illo Shaboladze

Ensemble

Male

Sandro Oboladze

Ensemble

Male

The old man

Ensemble

Male

Georgi Abashvili (or Abashwili)

Ensemble

Male

Three merchants

Ensemble

Either Gender

Aniko Vachnadze

Ensemble

Female

The Grand Duke

Ensemble

Male

Three farmers (Three Wealthy Farmers)

Ensemble

Either Gender

The old woman

Ensemble

Female

Ensemble

Ensemble

Either Gender

Songs

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A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

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Key Terms

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Quizzes

Themes, Symbols & Motifs

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