This document discusses various adaptations and interpretations of Franz Kafka's works over time, beginning with his original writings in the early 20th century up through modern adaptations in film, theater, ballet, and literature. It provides examples of notable productions of Kafka's works The Trial and Metamorphosis in theater from the 1940s to the 2010s in France, Britain, Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic, and Slovakia. It also shares insights from reviews of some of the early productions and references Kafka's life and legacy.

1. KAFKA’S META
/ MORPHOSIS
THERE AND BACK AGAIN…
PETR CHRISTOV
[PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC]

2. *1883
✢1924
J A R O S L AV R Ó N A : F R A N Z K A F K A M E M O R I A L [ P R A G U E , 2 0 0 3 ]
FRANZ KAFKA
INVISIBLY
OMNIPRESENT ?
Kafka’s Dick by Alan Bennett [1986]
The Trial, movie with Orson Welles [1962]
In the Penal Colony, opera by Philip Glass [2000]
Kafka on the Shore, novel by Haruki Murakami [2002]
Kafkaesque, S3E9 of the Breaking Bad series [2010]
The Metamorphosis, ballet by Edward Watson, [2011]

3. E D WA R D WAT S O N A S G R E G O R S A M S A I N T H E
R O YA L B A L L E T ’ S A D A P TAT I O N [ 2 0 1 1 ] O F M E TA M O R P H O S I S
„Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus
unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er
sich in seinem Bett zu einem
ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt.“
„As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from
uneasy dreams he found himself transformed
in his bed into a gigantic insect.”“
– K A F K A’ S G E R M A N O R I G I N A L [ 1 9 1 5 ] A N D T H E F I R S T
E N G L I S H T R A N S L AT I O N B Y E D W I N A N D W I L L A M U I R [ 1 9 3 3 ]

4. THE TRIAL || LE PROCÈS
1 9 4 7
THÉÂTRE DE MARIGNY
BARRAULT⌾GIDE⌾KAFKA

5. – E R I C B E N T L E Y W R I T E S A B O U T B A R R A U LT ’ S K A F K A
[ A N D M A R I VA U X A N D M O L I È R E ]
“The clarity and the fullness
surprise and delight every
reader of Kafka.“
1 9 5 0

6. J L B

7. – F R O M E R I C B E N T L E Y ’ S R E V I E W S O N B A R R A U LT ' S
V E R S I O N O F K A F K A’ S T H E T R I A L
„This kind of dream is a stylized version of actuality.
It is actuality 'alienated' by mystery. Voices come at
you out of dark. Figures emerge and recede in
silhouette. Movements are reduced to a mechanical
pattern so that men become as dolls. The
environment runs away from the people. […] Décor for
The Process is a perpetual transformation scene.
From the first opening of the curtain, walls rise and
fall. […] The actors drink from empty cups and hammer
away at imaginary typewriters. The telephone on
Joseph K.’s deck looks about 18 inches long.“

8. B
A
R
R
A
U
LT-
G
I
D
E
-
K
A
F
K
A
:
T
H
E
T
R
I
A
L
[
T
H
É
ÂT
R
E
D
E
M
A
R
I
G
N
Y,
[
1
9
4
7
]
– O N C E A G A I N E R I C B E N T L E Y A N D H I S
E X P E R I E N C E W I T H B A R R A U LT / K A F K A
„The ideal critic of this
play would not know
Kafka’s book.“

9. KAFKA'S
GLOBAL/LOCAL
MODERNITY
⎈

10. 1961
68
7/61
16
KAFKA & FUN FACTS
C Z / S K
KAFKA’S CONFERENCE AT LIBLICE
KAFKA’S SHOWS IN CZECH THEATRES
BEFORE / AFTER 1989
KAFKA’S SHOWS IN SLOVAK THEATRES
1965 FIRST KAFKA ON THE CZECH STAGE

11. KAFKA’S
THE TRIAL
BY JAN GROSSMAN
1 9 6 6
K A F K A : T H E T R I A L [ T H É ÂT R E AT T H E B A L U S T R A D E S , P R A G U E 1 9 6 6 ]

12. K A F K A : T H E T R I A L [ T H É ÂT R E AT T H E B A L U S T R A D E S , P R A G U E 1 9 6 6 ]
1 9 6 6

13. K A F K A : T H E T R I A L [ T H É ÂT R E AT T H E B A L U S T R A D E S , P R A G U E 1 9 6 6 ]
1 9 6 6

14. K A F K A : T H E T R I A L [ T H É ÂT R E AT T H E B A L U S T R A D E S , P R A G U E 1 9 6 6 ]
1 9 6 6

15. K A F K A : T H E T R I A L [ T H É ÂT R E AT T H E B A L U S T R A D E S , P R A G U E 1 9 6 6 ]
1 9 6 6

16. K A F K A : T H E T R I A L [ T H É ÂT R E AT T H E B A L U S T R A D E S , P R A G U E 1 9 6 6 ]
1 9 6 6

17. 1 9 8 9
PETR
LÉBL
METAMORPHOSIS
& HIS “JELO” COMPANY
R E A D M O R E I N ➣ П Р О Б Л Е М И Н А И З К У С Т В О Т О [ 2 0 1 8 / 3 ]
“ H O W T O B E C O M E A M AT E U R . TA L E S F R O M T H E C Z E C H A LT E R N AT I V E T H E AT R E B E F O R E A N D A F T E R 1 9 8 9 ”

18. 1961
68
7/61
16
KAFKA & FUN FACTS
C Z / S K
KAFKA’S CONFERENCE AT LIBLICE
KAFKA’S SHOWS IN CZECH THEATRES
BEFORE / AFTER 1989
KAFKA’S SHOWS IN SLOVAK THEATRES
1965 FIRST KAFKA ON THE CZECH STAGE

19. PUPPETS
KAFKA
“WRITTEN REALITY”
T E AT R O H U G O : H U G O [ S E M I LY / P R A G U E , C Z E C H R E P U B L I C , 2 0 0 8 ]
2 0 0 8

20. T E AT R O H U G O : H U G O [ D I R E C T E D B Y J A N M O C E K , 2 0 0 8 , C Z ]

21. – A U R E L I U S A U G U S T I N U S H I P P O N E N S I S
„CREDO QUIA
ABSURDUM EST.“
KAFKA

22. CHRISTOV.PETR@GMAIL.COM
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PETRCHRISTOVPREKLADATEL
+420 606 235 811
D Ě K U J I