"CHALK CHAKKAR" The Circle

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October - 1985 (Lahore)


Written by: Bertolt Brecht
Directed by: Madeeha Gauhar
Adaptation by: Shahid Nadeem

Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle was written at a time when the world was still reeling under the devastation caused by the world war II . However it appears to have been specially written for the post-8th Amendment, post-dissolution Pakistan of 1993.In the first half of the play, the place intrigues, the total lack of nay morals or ethics among the warring ruling factions and the economic, political and moral chaos will seem very familiar to us. In the second half, we see the law literally standing on its head. The rogue judge Azdak my appear to be corrupt, rude and unpredictable but is in fact mocking the prevalent norms of justice (or the lack of any).

A dry, doctrinaire didactic theatre was far from what brecht had in mind, as is often mistakenly assumed. Enjoyment is the noblest function we have found for the theatre , he said. But if the audience is to enjoy what it learns in the theatre, it must remain detached and critical, This alienation of the spectator is achieved through various techniques including the detached acting style, the constant music and dance and story-telling. True to brecht’s concept of this EPIC theater, Ajoka’s production of Chaak Chakkar uses these elements. Brecht was in fact influenced by the Asiatic theatrical techniques, which we have inherited from our traditional theatre. Like most of its productions, Ajoka has once again tried to link modern theatre concepts with production, and has kept a balance between meaningful content and aesthetically satisfying from.

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The Cast: Nirvaan Nadeem, Hania Cheema, Usman Zia, Imran-ul-haq, Yaqoob Masih, Khola Quraishi/ Aalia Abbasi, Sarfraz Ansari, Aamir Sahotra, Shahid Zafar, Asif Hussain, Waseem Luka, Tazeem Sadiq, Abbasi / Mina Sadiq, Nadeem Abbas, Uzra Butt/ Tazeem Sadiq, Meena Sadiq, Emaan Yousuf, Shezad Sadiq, Aliya, Shahzad, Waseem, Saima, Tazeem, Mina, Shahzad, Abid Shehki, Meena, Shahzad

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Review: This was the last play which Brecht wrote between 1944-45 and reflects the tragedy of his times, the terror and aftermath of the Second World War, the tearing part of the social fabric, the economic chaos, warring factions, dilemmas in the dispensation of justice to the people and the ultimate ‘judgment’ of love. That the production has played to crowded audiences is proof enough of public interest, and the fact that the theatre can work and should if senseless strictures are removed.