LINGUISTICS: EPIC THEATRE IN CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE

EPIC THEATRE IN CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE Epic theatre is a literal device that turns spectators into the audience by allowing them to stand outside a play and study it. The literal device allows the audience to analyse and evaluate the actions taking place on the stage without being emotionally involved in the storyline. The device uses a series of anti-illusive devices that make the audience feel alienated from the storyline and the character, and this makes it hard for the audience to empathize with a character’s struggles. The play, Caucasian Chalk Circle, is a good example of literal works that depict this literal device. Epic theatre is firstly displayed through the use of a narrator to tell the story. The play starts with a prologue presented a Caucasian village, where the people of the village are being narrated a play called the chalk circle by a singer. Therefore, the singer is outside the play, and this makes it easy for the audience to make judgments because they are not emotionally involved. There is the use of signs where the singer narrates what is going to happen at the commencement of each scene. In scene 6, the singer is doing a narration, and at the same time, she is erecting some set up on the stage. This demonstrates to the audience that the props and scenery are not authentic, and hence the audience is fully aware that this is a play. Epic theatre is also demonstrated in this scene because of the break of the fourth wall technique. The audience is conscious that they are watching a play. The singer also changes places and times in the play, and this alteration of time and place is an element of epic theatre. For example, the singer smoothly transitions from the story about Grusha to Azdak, making the audience have less engagement to Grusha’s predicaments. Therefore, the play successfully uses epic theatre to encourage the audience to look at the inner lying issue of society without being emotionally biased. Show Less