Concentric Circles: Two Chuanju Reinterpretations of The Caucasian Chalk Circle as The Chalk Circle

Abstract

This chapter is a study of the 1992 and 2011 chuanju adaptations of Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle (written in 1944)—which itself is an adaptation of the fourteenth-century Chinese play Huilan ji (The Chalk Circle)—and their experiments with interfusing traditional chuanju and innovative new techniques to address social problems of present-day China in the spirit of Brecht’s political theatre. These two chuanju adaptations, especially the 2011 adaptation, reflect the progress Chinese artists have made in blending Brechtian theatre and xiqu, traditional xiqu techniques, and new theatre technologies, in creating a theatre experience that is both engaging and resonant with the socioeconomic and cultural realities of present-day China.