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‘Is this some crazy joke?’ Josef K. screams when he wakes up one day and gets arrested in his pyjamas. He’s guilty, but of what? Neither the clownish looking detectives nor he himself knows. ‘Because the court says so,’ is their repeated answer. This is the story of Het Proces (The Trial) by the writer Franz Kafka. You don’t need to have read the book to enjoy this crazy tale; Toneelgroep Oostpool created a thrilling theatrical piece with a lot of young men in colourful suits, who made me think of the University of Amsterdam’s employees.
Playing around
Are you already sighing at the idea of joining a performance, especially one made after some German book? Don’t worry, director Marcus Azzini possesses the talent of telling heavy stories in a light way. With a love for language, the dialogues are fast and funny. The actors, for example Stefan Rokebrand and Matthijs van de Sande Bakhuyzen, are walking and talking around the stage. ‘What are you all doing here, can you please leave?’, Rokebrand asks the audience. All aspects of Azzini’s playing around with static theatre rules.
Besides this approachable setup, this 1915 story is incredibly relevant. It’s about generalising laws and how this can make them foolish, but even more about how people obey these made-up rules and trust them more than their own common sense. It reminded me of last year, when my participation in a couple of courses was prohibited because of a mistake by the bureaucratic bulk of the UvA. Without exception all desk robots shrugged their shoulders and told me it was out of their hands. ‘Who is this leader of the process, does he even exist?!’, Josef K. cries through the space. I sometimes wonder too.
Het Proces by Toneelgroep Oostpool
When: Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th of November, 20:15
Where: Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, Leidseplein 26
Tickets: Starting from €10,-
Online: Website
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