Caucasian Chalk Circle ****

The Unicorn Theatre

EXCERPT: "After the wonderfully engaging and accessible start, McGuinness' adaptation continues to impress. It feels faithful to the original by retaining the Brechtian style as well as its Communist content, with its narrator or use of the third person for the courting process - each working to make the normal feel unfamiliar. He seamlessly incorporates titbits of modern day phraseology into a play riddled with more formal antiquated language, and adeptly introduces poetic lines and lyrical melody."

Summary

Blood runs through the streets and the Governor's severed head is nailed to the gates of the city. 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?

A bold and inventive new production of Brecht's moral masterpiece, accompanied by a live and original soundtrack.

Thoughts

Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle has been stunningly updated in Frank McGuinness' adaptation and Amy Leach's production. Its opening distinctly separates the piece from Brecht's original piece, instead of using his prologue, the actors hold forth with a meta-theatrical conversation that does the modern day equivalent of Brecht's prologue, introducing the play, its themes, and drawing us into the theatrical experience. It is a wonderful way to engage us from the off, and smoothly link up the weird transition between our own lives and the theatrical world we have to join. 

McGuinness' adaptation continues to impress. It feels faithful to the original by retaining the Brechtian style as well as its Communist content, with its narrator or use of the third person for the courting process - each working to make the normal feel unfamiliar. He seamlessly incorporates titbits of modern day phraseology into a play riddled with more formal antiquated language, and adeptly introduces poetic lines and lyrical melody. The linguistic variety never feels forced or gratuitous, and most remarkably - despite being often used to enhance comedic moments - each style never jars. 

Director Amy Leach and designer Hayley Grindle have done wonderful jobs at using The Unicorn's impressive stage and backstage space - their production is by turns visually inventive, humorous, and - particularly through the talented use of a puppet child - emotionally nuanced. I loved the white sheet mountains - just one example of how beautifully they realised the dramatically-tricky-to-realise need to show the protagonist journey through treacherous terrain and adverse conditions. The clothing choices were judicious and evocatively effective. The sound was supremely well done by Dom Coyote, who used a variety of musical and electrical instruments, including his voice, to provide either backing mood or to allow him as narrator to take centre stage. 

It was a very good theatrical realisation of the text, realising all its inherent qualities - both Brecht's and McGuinness's. And the cast matched up to the talented creative team, particularly Kiran Sonia Sawar who was understated but quite mesmerising in the main role. She used body language incredibly well to convey her experience, but her clear signals to the audience remarkably only served to enhance her naturalism. My only real criticism is that the first half of the second act (the judging) went on for too long - which, in turn, made me realise how dependent we were on Sawar as the emotional lynchpin in the play.

I feel great things are due to both this company and this actress. Just as Hetty Feather had hints of Matilda, so in this you can see the blossomings of another Hetty Feather. Child- and teenager-friendly is so crucial - and tonight, with the way it could engross every generation - firmly proved the worth of theatres like The Unicorn, which pronounces itself a young theatre.