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ABOUT CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE: "Brecht's "lehrstucke", or "teaching play", comes from an ancient tale of Solomon's wisdom. Solomon judges the true mother of a child by proposing to cut the infant in half. Who is the true mother? The woman who would destroy the little one by having him cut in two? Or the woman who would give up the child in order to preserve his life? In our incarnation of Brecht's musical fable (one of his most gentle plays) a touch of whimsy and story theatre takes the edge off preconceived notions of what a Brechtian production must be. The company, discovering a 16th century book of actor's gestures, "Chirologia, The Language of the Hand", can't resist putting these long forgotten postures to good use. Very much like sign language, the poses become instinctive, a reflex. They create a visual clarity and silhouette specific to each character. Like story theatre, each character thus becomes instantly recognizable and his moral purpose fixedly clear; thereby advancing Brecht's predilection for clarifying a moral before poking holes through it! Add old lampshades for crowns, and one realizes that not all of Brecht's work is filled with "strum und dram". |