The Trial / Metamorphosis / In the Penal Colony: Three Theatre Adaptations from Franz Kafka - Softcover

Kafka, Franz; Berkoff, Steven

Softcover

ISBN 10: 090639984X ISBN 13: 9780906399842

Publisher: Amber Lane Press Ltd, 1988

Synopsis

These are three dramatic adaptations from Franz Kafka that have been performed all over the world and never fail to move audiences wherever they are played. In the Penal Colony was Berkoff's first professional production, performed at London's experimental theatre, the Arts Lab, Drury Lane, in 1968. It is a strange tale of torture and suffering featuring a macabre machine so fiendish and diabolical that it could have been designed in hell (Cast 4m). The Trial was first presented at the Oval House in 1970. It s the story of Joseph K. struggling in the abyss of self-doubt. A ludicrous parable investigating every contingency and nuance of the law (Cast 8+m, 2+f). His adaptation of Metamorphosis , in which he originally played the part of Gregor, was first produced at the Round House in 1969. Gregor, the Untermensch, is gradually transformed into an insect which his family reject, then tolerate, then loathe, and finally destroy by neglect. (Cast 3+m, 2+f)

About this title

Review

"A powerful, yet vividly funny, version of Kafka’s dark fantasy..." -- Jack Tinker, Daily Mail

"Franz Kafka, a tortured soul if ever there was one, has found his perfect modern interpreter in Steven Berkoff..." -- Antony Thorncroft, Financial Times

"Kafka’s novella ‘Metamorphosis’ (1913) is a pretty gruelling affair ... In Steven Berkoff’s brilliant stage adaptation ... it becomes more searing still." -- Christopher Grier, London Standard

"[In Berkoff’s] expressionistic interpretation of [‘Metamorphosis’] its power and often heart-rending qualities now possesses an extraordinary eloquence." -- Keith Nurse, Daily Telegraph

From the Publisher

Amber Lane Press books by Steven Berkoff include ‘Coriolanus in Deutschland’ - a day-by-day account of preparing a production of Shakespeare’s ‘Coriolanus’ in Munich, ‘Agamemnon’ / ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (adaptations from Aeschylus and Poe) and ‘Requiem for Ground Zero’ - a poem paying homage to the unknown victims of the 911 tragedy.

Edition details

• Publisher: Amber Lane Press Ltd
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 090639984X
• ISBN 13: 9780906399842
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144
• Editor: Berkoff Steven