The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Penguin Modern Classics) - Softcover

Brecht, Bertolt

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141189169 ISBN 13: 9780141189161

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2007

Synopsis

The play is a parable inspired by the Chinese play Chalk Circle. Written at the close of World War II, the story is set in the Caucasus mountains of Georgia, and retells the tale of King Solomon and a child claimed by two mothers. A chalk circle is metaphorically drawn around a society misdirected in its priorities. Brecht's statements about class are cloaked in the innocence of a fable that whispers insistently to the audience.

About this title

Review:

'The Caucasian Chalk Circle, written in 1944 while he was in exile from Germany, gives some epic illumination to socialist ideas about ownership and injustice. But more than that it's a story about love winning out over endemic corruption' --Dominic Maxwell, The Times

'an adept new translation by Alistair Beaton' --Dominic Maxwell, The Times

About the Author:

Bertold Brecht (1898-1956) is one of Germany's best-known playwrights. His social critiques, including The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Mother Courage and Her Children and The Threepenny Opera, resonate with modern audiences and continue to be frequently performed.

Eric Bentley, one of the foremost authorities on the modern theatre, is a recognized playwright, critic and scholar, and a longtime intimate of Brecht. His most recent book is Bentley on Brecht.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0141189169
• ISBN 13: 9780141189161
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144
• Editor: Bentley Eric