A darkly comic stage adaptation of The Trial, relocating Kafka's classic novel to twenty-first-century London.

On his thirtieth birthday, Joseph K has his sushi home-delivery intercepted by two unidentified men who inform him he is under arrest. He has no idea what he's done wrong but he's determined to clear his name.

As he tries to make sense of his situation and to confront those who threaten his freedom, Joseph is thrown headlong into a fight against an invisible and illogical law.

Tom Basden's play Joseph K was first staged at the Gate Theatre, London, in 2010.

About the Author
Tom Basden's plays include: an adaptation of Dario Fo and Franca Rame's Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Sheffield Theatres, 2022; Lyric Hammersmith and West End, 2023); The Crocodile, an adaptation of a short story by Dostoyevksy (Manchester International Festival, 2015); Holes (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2013; Arcola Theatre, London, 2014); There is a War (as part of the Double Feature season in the Paintframe at the National Theatre); Joseph K, an adaptation of Kafka's The Trial (Gate Theatre, London) and Party (Fringe First Winner; Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Sydney International Festival/Arts Theatre, London). He has written for some of Britain's best TV comedies, including Peep Show, Fresh Meat, The Wrong Mans and Plebs, which won Best New Comedy at the British Comedy Awards 2013 and Best Scripted Comedy at the RTS Awards 2014. He is also a member of sketch group Cowards, who wrote and performed their own TV series on BBC4. For Radio 4 he has made two series of Cowards and three series of his sitcom Party, based on his 2009 play. He has been nominated for a BAFTA three times, and has won a Fringe First and an Edinburgh Comedy Award. Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer based in Prague, who is widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His best known works include the novella The Metamorphosis and novels The Trial and The Castle.

Reviews

'Breathtakingly funny, expertly constructed and dripping with acid wit'

* Evening Standard *

'Comedian and writer Tom Basden has re-imagined Kafka's nightmarish fable The Trial for the 21st century with a darkly comic play that brings out the original work's mordant humour and semi-surreal oddness'

* The Stage *

'Basden crafts rib-tickling naturalistic dialogue (an argument about takeaway sushi is golden) and sets up some beautifully weird set-piece gags, such as K's attempt to use an inane CD-ROM guide to the law...if there have been more powerful adaptations of The Trial, few have been funnier.'

* Time Out *



Book Information
ISBN 9781848421547
Author Tom Basden
Format Paperback
Page Count 112
Imprint Nick Hern Books
Publisher Nick Hern Books
Weight(grams) 140g
Dimensions(mm) 197mm * 130mm * 7mm