Kafka was an intense, haunted, genius with neurotic paranoia. His constant apprehension of terror inhabits novels such as The Trial, where an arrest for an unknown crime leads to incarceration and a horrific death. He may not have lived through the Holocaust, but his imaginings seems to foreshadow it.
If it were not for his close friend Max Brod, we might never have been able to read his writing, for Kafka ordered Brod to burn it all after his death. Happily for the world, Brod disobeyed his friend and made sure the work was published and read.
This month sees the fiftieth anniversary of Kafka’s death in 1924, just as next month marks the anniversary of his birth in 1883. So tributes in the media and on TV and radio, many fascinating and revealing, are available for those who wish to learn more about him; though I would say that those who are able to watch and experience Klaff’s incredible deep dive into Kafka onstage are fortunate indeed in getting closest to the uncomfortable reality of his world.
By Judi Herman
Photos by Marilyn Kingwill
Kafka runs until Saturday 6 July. 7.30pm, 3pm (Sat & Sun only). £20/£23, £18/£20 concs. Finborough Theatre, London, SW10 9ED. finboroughtheatre.co.uk
