Product Description

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)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30822 in Books
• Published on: 1988-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

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

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

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

Customer Reviews

Imaginative and creative translations.
I have read both metamorphosis and in the penal colony (the Kafka versions), and I think that Berkoff is a genius for creating such incitive and passionate stage versions of these texts. You can really feel the atmosphere and tension in these plays.