'The Caucasian Chalk Circle' Review
Venue: Rose Theatre
Dates: Until 22 October
OUR VERDICT:
★★★
It is always good to watch anything by a playwright such as Bertolt Brecht in the company of an A-Level drama student who, having studied the original text and a raft of interpretations can help explain the lesser and greater (ie most of the second half) plot peculiarities.
The Rose Theatre version, adapted by Steve Waters and directed by Rose artistic director Christopher Haydon shifts the action from the 14th-century original to a modern-day soulless asylum centre, where displaced peoples bicker over future land settlements and other grievances.
An officious UN representative, dispatched to try and address some of their problems, announces instead that an entertainer has been booked to lift their spirits. This is understandably met with derision, especially after the group is told the show requires audience participation.
Enter The Singer (Zoe West) who, complete with trusty Billy Bragg-meets-Ed Sheeran guitar, announces the play within a play conceit and before long everyone is on board as metal beds are turned into the palace gates and roles are doled out.
The ‘play’ features the collapse of a corrupt authority and the subsequent civil war and bloodshed. At the heart of the story is Grusha (played by Carrie Hope Fletcher) who, after becoming betrothed to a young soldier, is forced to flee the country with the discarded heir of the deposed regime.
We then follow the young maid as she tries to escape the clutches of enemy forces, a miserable sister-in-law, a loveless marriage and a fight to ascertain just who the rightful mother of the child is by doing battle in the ‘chalk circle’.
There is definitely a fair bit to keep us entertained, mostly the multi-character work of Ronny Jhutti and Shiv Rabheru and the other members of the ensemble who are tasked with covering around 50 roles between them. While quite a lot happens, there are cuts that could have been made or at least sections that could have been sped up.
The addition of a multitude of mostly melody-free folk mixed with protest-style songs drags the first half to an uncomfortably-long 90-minutes. Come the second half and I must admit I was then forced to have a little help from my drama student companion. However, all became clear and a much tighter, swifter second act ensued.
Jonathan Slinger’s admirable portrayal of judge Adzark, entertainingly breaking the fourth wall with contemporary digs at Trump, political corruption and Russian oligarchs, was slightly wasted amid the audience’s almost audible need to get home.
The sparse grey metal set by Oli Townsend adapts well and the pantomime costumes - fake beards, hats and so on all help the absurdist feel.
Carrie Hope Fletcher is the biggest name present and we are given plenty of opportunities to hear the voice of one of today’s most sought-after West End performers. If only she could have thrown in a chorus or two of something from Les Mis, I think we all would have been grateful.
It is great to see Brecht performed - and this production was certainly a good introduction to his ‘epic theatre’ style. But I think a little prune here and there could have made for an even-more exhilarating evening.
