Written by Bertolt Brecht. Directed by John Moss.
3rd – 6th June
I know of no other community theatre in this, or any other, area that would have the courage, dedication, and sheer chutzpah to mount a production of Bertolt Brecht’s “Caucasian Chalk Circle”. The cast list features no fewer than 93 characters. Preparation for this production involved five weeks of intensive rehearsals, and they pulled it off! The production is long – almost two and a half hours (including interval), yet on the night I attended, I noticed no production, movement, or speech delivery glitches. Well done, all!
Of course, a cast of ninety-three characters required some serious “doubling-up”, and it was great to see so many experienced Arden performers contributing their talents and expertise. Each actor mastered the requisite costume and character changes convincingly and with flair. Speaking of costume … What a tour de force for the costume department! I thought the soldiers’ outfits (with their distinctive purple insignia) were particularly effective.
I cannot complete a review of this production without mentioning the entire technical/backstage crew. They showed amazing ingenuity in convincingly moving the scenario from one location to another without any interruption of the action. In the blink of an eye, a Marketplace became first “A Hovel”, then “Another Hovel”, and, with a cheeky slap of the wrist and the replacement of just one letter, the “Hovel” became “A Hotel” (which brought an appreciative chuckle from the audience!).
Thank you to the Arden Theatre for having the courage to put this play on, to John Moss, whose direction inspired all to do such good work, and to all who gave so much of their time and dedication to get it right!
Elizabeth Bergstone