Review: Kafka for Beginners, Dunedin Theatre at Braw Venues @ Hill Street

In a dystopian jail cell, in a land where 2+2=5, a chained prisoner refuses to compromise his integrity. He is unwilling to collaborate with a corrupt state and an emperor who reimagines truths in order to manipulate and control his subjects. Sounds kind of familiar? This is not an entirely novel theme for a play, but it is a highly topical one, given the current political climate.

Kafka for Beginners by Julian Henry Lowenfeld contains characters that are also very familiar: the prisoner in solitary confinement and two guards ‘just doing their job’ as they torture and mentally abuse him. These ideas could easily have been pulled from 1984 or many of Kafka’s writings, and they are conveyed competently by the cast of three. Reuben Gillespie Foran as the prisoner has a particularly lengthy, wordy role to deliver, but he does so ably.

The show describes itself as a black comedy, although there are only a few moments of humour to bring glimpses of light into the dark. Where the script is at its best is in the curation of a huge number of literary, poetic and artistic references, which add lyricism. Quoting everything from the Bible to Pushkin to Shakespeare, Lowenfeld equips his protagonist with words that become weaponised, armouring him and his moral conscience against relentless persecution. They are his defence against a regime that routinely spins facts into distorted versions of the truth, and with them he is empowered, which is ultimately uplifting.

The play is supported by an unsettling soundscape that hints at a disrupted outside life. Video images of exploitative propaganda place the corrupt and distorted world view alongside the picture of an innocent child, supposedly loyal to the state. The staging of the production is minimal, with a few lighting changes indicating shifts in emotional states, and boundaries suggested by simple prop placement. Inclusion of a few small items, such as a flask of whisky and a carton of caviar, succinctly suggest the hedonistic luxuries that might tempt the prisoner to succumb to compliance.

However, the play would benefit from more theatricality. Leaning in to the idea of the prisoner being free in his imagination, it could perhaps exploit international music or cultural references to visually and audibly extract us from the cell. This would help us to understand how his cerebral detachment from the threat of death is made possible, and give a sense of the worth of global solidarity.

There’s a clear message here about conscience, conformity and personal integrity which comes across strongly. With more animated, imaginative staging this play has potential to be rather more effective dramatically.

Playwright & Composer: Julian Henry Lowenfeld

Director: Derek Douglas

Producer: Kenneth Pushkin

Co-Producer: Sofia Kapkov

Co-Producer & Cultural Partnerships: Marina Kovalyov

Presented by Edinburgh Little Theatre

Kafka for Beginners plays at Dunedin Theatre at Braw Venues @ Hill Street until Sunday 30 August as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe