The Stage

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Published Monday 31 January 2011 at 16:27 by Julie Watterston

Blackeyed Theatre has produced some excellent devised work over the past few years and this production is equally well conceived with its cast of just five actors.

Anna Glynn (Grusha Vachnadze) in The Caucasian Chalk Circle at the Wilde Theatre, Bracknell Photo: George Riddell

The anti-realist propaganda within the parables of Brecht’s play highlights the communist ideologies which battled against the Nazi regime of the day.

Blackeyed Theatre has identified similarities in today’s politics and projects visions of recent world events on to the simple trucking that forms the basis of the set design. The point is well made yet the flickering images detract from the spoken word and take us momentarily out of Soviet control. On the other hand, this technique complements the work of the German playwright by continually reminding us that it is indeed a play and not real life. Whether this methodology is cleverly mastered or just a distraction that would have been best omitted, shows the skill of the theatre company in creating thought processes for its audience.

Paul Taylor is prophetic as the Singer/Arkadi Tscheidze, whose narration speaks for the characters, with excellent performances from Anna Glynn as Grusha Vachnadze and Natella Abashvilli and Lee Drage as Simon Chachava. Ruth Cataroche is the focus in the fifth scene, Story of the Judge, in a good portrayal as the ridiculous Azdak and Greg Patmore pulls rank as Georgi Abashvilli.

Director Tom Neill admirably combines Ron McAllister’s musical compositions with Fiona Davis’ resourceful costume and mask design, with the masks providing the actors with inspired possibilities in the final chalk circle scene.