Franz Kakfa – Apparatus at the White Bear Theatre
When: 8th – 26th January 2019
Where: White Bear Theatre, 138 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4DJ
£: Tickets cost £15 or £12 for concessions
What is it?
Blue Devil Productions presents Franz Kafka – Apparatus by Ross Dinwiddy at the White Bear Theatre in London, from Tuesday 8th – Saturday 26th January.
The play is a reimagining of Kafka’s In the Penal Colony where tragedy, comedy, horror and the absurd intermingle in a dramatic labyrinth of cruelty, obsession and madness.
The Traveller is only on the island for a few days, he’s no fan of the brutal penal colony there, but hopes to leave with plenty to write about. Today he’s scheduled to watch a man die, but nothing has prepared him for an hour in the company of The Officer; a powerful woman who is the keeper and guardian of the hellish Apparatus. And amongst all the horror and insanity just how could a sexual attraction lead to romance between The Condemned Man and The Soldier guarding him?
Kafka’s In the Penal Colony, was written in 1914, but first published 100 years ago in 1919. This story of blind faith, twisted beliefs and unfathomable ‘justice’ feels as relevant today as when first written at the height of the First World War. Set in a penal colony of an unspecified nation, one can only think of today’s Guantamo Bay and similar institutions which appear to be operating outside any normal rule of law.
Add the fear of ‘the other’ that has taken over so many western democracies and this brutal process of enforced conformity becomes eerily poignant.
Blue Devil’s production promises a macabre and yet darkly funny evening at the theatre, where audiences are invited to attend a most unusual execution but will experience so much more.
A critical hit at Brighton Fringe 2018, Franz Kafka – Apparatus was shortlisted for the Best New Play Award and won Highly Commended in the Best Design for Print Award.
More info: www.bluedeviltheatre.co.uk and www.whitebeartheatre.co.uk
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