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The Caucasian Chalk Circle (tr. Auden/Stern)

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  14w, 39m, 4any gender (adult)

James Stern, Tania Stern, W.H. Auden, Bertolt Brecht

Translated by James and Tania Stern with W. H. Auden

Written when Brecht was living in exile in the United States during World War II, THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE is one of his most frequently performed plays. For the story, Brecht borrowed from an ancient Chinese tale -- echoed in the biblical account of the judgment of King Solomon -- in which two women claim the same child, but he subverted it into a parable advocating the idea that resources should go to those best able to make use of them. Thanks to the rascally judge Azdak, natural -- though not biological -- justice is rendered, and the peasant Grusha, rather than the mother, gets to keep the child she loves.

The Caucasian Chalk Circle (tr. Auden/Stern)

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    Cast Size
    14w, 39m, 4any gender (adult)

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Summary
Written when Brecht was living in exile in the United States during World War II, THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE is one of his most frequently performed plays. For the story, Brecht borrowed from an ancient Chinese tale -- echoed in the biblical account of the judgment of King Solomon -- in which two women claim the same child, but he subverted it into a parable advocating the idea that resources should go to those best able to make use of them. Thanks to the rascally judge Azdak, natural -- though not biological -- justice is rendered, and the peasant Grusha, rather than the mother, gets to keep the child she loves.
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Authors

Author

James Stern

Author

Tania Stern

Author

W.H. Auden

Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), playwright, poet and director, was born in Augsburg, Germany in February 1898. He established himself as a playwright during the 1920s and early 1930s with plays such as Baal, Man is Man, The Threepenny Opera and The Mother. In 1933, as Hitler came ...
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