REVIEW
Lindisfarne Productions present
Kafka's Dick
by Alan Bennett
Dixon Studio
Palace Theatre
Westcliff on Sea
from Wednesday 20th - Saturday 23rd November
at 7.45 nightly with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm
Lindisfarne Productions present
Kafka's Dick
by Alan Bennett
Dixon Studio
Palace Theatre
Westcliff on Sea
from Wednesday 20th - Saturday 23rd November
at 7.45 nightly with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm
Alan Bennett’s Kafka’s Dick is a play that I’ve always known and heard of, yet never actually seen or been curious enough to investigate, despite its somewhat provocative title. Lindisfarne Productions clearly had no such qualms in approaching one of Bennett’s somewhat fantastical pieces of theatre. To put it into perspective, Bennett has written a play about Franz Kafka, the Czech novelist whose works were seen as a fusion of realism, the absurdist and surreal; that is those works that remained in circulation. You see, Kafka, like a lot of writers, was in torment over just how good his works were, and so before he died of tuberculosis in his early forties, he asked his best friend, Max Brod to burn the whole lot wishing to become anonymous…or did he? It becomes clear, as the play progresses, that Kafka's wish was not carried out by Max who realised he could profit from Kafka's works; and did Kafka really not want to be known to future generations?
Bennett introduces us to Kafka and Brod pre-death to play out this scenario and then, as absurdly as one of Kafka's novels, reintroduces them back from the dead, turning up in the 1980s northern English home of Sydney and Linda. Sydney is a rather boring insurance clerk. His hobby is reading biographies and he is, literally, obsessed with Kafka through reading many tomes about him and, not least, the one that Brod wrote about his departed friend.
So, when Brod blunders his way into their home after urinating on their pet tortoise (don’t ask) followed closely by Kafka himself, Sydney is completely in his element and, despite his wife’s protestations that the pair are both actually dead, is so enraptured with meeting them that he’s fully prepared to embrace this meeting of like minds and ignore his wife’s concerns that they are burglars or social workers come to test his mother's mental ability to dodge going into a care home.
As mad, confusing and whacky as all this sounds, it’s all completely engaging and you can’t help but be drawn into the moment. This is likely due to the fact that the Lindisfarne cast have completely understood the mission. As in all good farces, there’s a certain amount of slapstick and smutty inuendo which Lindisfarne are renowned for doing well, however, this particular farce requires more than that; it’s deeper and requires an intelligent actor and of course, director, (Melvyn Howell) to keep on top of the inner workings of Bennett’s brilliant mind, and this cast do it splendidly. They’ve clearly got a good handle of Bennett’s vision for this play and give it their all. There is no doubt that this is down to the experience of each of the actors performing here. It’s a strong cast. Jack Byrne is hugely watchable as Kafka showing vulnerability as well as arrogance and a touch of vanity in the role of the tormented writer betrayed by his best friend Brod, nicely played by Lindisfarne stalwart, Steve McCartney.
Keith Chanter and Vanessa Osborn (on loan from Southend Shakespeare Company) bounce off each other well as husband and wife. They are both masters in finding the perfect way to deliver lines to great comedic effect and Chanter’s deadpan delivery is spot on providing lots of chuckles. Osborn, as the working class wife who just wants to learn and be loved more, gives a convincing performance and I loved her little flirtations with Kafka.
Carol Hayes has the wonderful job of playing Mother, hobbling on and off stage every so often accompanied by her zimmer frame. She’s desperately trying to avoid being sent to a care home by having to not only remember the date, and the current prime minister but subsequently the details of Kafka’s relationship with his father. A real peach of a Bennett character played to perfection.
Chris Linnat-Scott does a good turn playing Kafka’s awful father in proper cockney geezer mode. He knows a very personal secret about his son and, in true manipulative nasty dad style, and in an attempt to make him look good for the biography that Sydney is writing about his son, bribes Kafka to tell everyone that he’s a good dad or he’ll reveal to all the size of his son’s (cover your eyes) small penis. Yes, the ‘dick’ in Kafka’s Dick is actually about his, umm, dick. No euphemisms here!
It’s interesting how quickly you become enveloped in the continuing absurdness of the play’s action and just when you think you’ve got it, the final scene adds another dimension to the works as Kafka et al find themselves in Heaven greeted by Jacquee Storozynski-Toll who gets an opportunity to sparkle as Angel. She introduces them to all the other writers and playwrights there and they all dance to 'Aga-doo' (again, don't ask), which is where the play comes to an end and, as overheard by an audience member on the way back to the foyer, “I really didn’t get it but it was actually really good!” is possibly the simplest way to sum it up.
If you're looking for a night of laughter, thought-provoking theatre, and a touch of the ‘did I just go to the theatre or have I just woken up from the weirdest dream’ type scenario, Kafka's Dick will tick all the boxes. Ultimately if you’re a fan of Alan Bennett you won’t be disappointed. His observations of human nature strongly resonate and the near sold out Dixon Studio audience were hugely appreciative.
Finishing way before 10pm, it also gives you plenty of time to grab a drink at the bar afterwards. You’ll possible need it!
Review: Kim Tobin
Bennett introduces us to Kafka and Brod pre-death to play out this scenario and then, as absurdly as one of Kafka's novels, reintroduces them back from the dead, turning up in the 1980s northern English home of Sydney and Linda. Sydney is a rather boring insurance clerk. His hobby is reading biographies and he is, literally, obsessed with Kafka through reading many tomes about him and, not least, the one that Brod wrote about his departed friend.
So, when Brod blunders his way into their home after urinating on their pet tortoise (don’t ask) followed closely by Kafka himself, Sydney is completely in his element and, despite his wife’s protestations that the pair are both actually dead, is so enraptured with meeting them that he’s fully prepared to embrace this meeting of like minds and ignore his wife’s concerns that they are burglars or social workers come to test his mother's mental ability to dodge going into a care home.
As mad, confusing and whacky as all this sounds, it’s all completely engaging and you can’t help but be drawn into the moment. This is likely due to the fact that the Lindisfarne cast have completely understood the mission. As in all good farces, there’s a certain amount of slapstick and smutty inuendo which Lindisfarne are renowned for doing well, however, this particular farce requires more than that; it’s deeper and requires an intelligent actor and of course, director, (Melvyn Howell) to keep on top of the inner workings of Bennett’s brilliant mind, and this cast do it splendidly. They’ve clearly got a good handle of Bennett’s vision for this play and give it their all. There is no doubt that this is down to the experience of each of the actors performing here. It’s a strong cast. Jack Byrne is hugely watchable as Kafka showing vulnerability as well as arrogance and a touch of vanity in the role of the tormented writer betrayed by his best friend Brod, nicely played by Lindisfarne stalwart, Steve McCartney.
Keith Chanter and Vanessa Osborn (on loan from Southend Shakespeare Company) bounce off each other well as husband and wife. They are both masters in finding the perfect way to deliver lines to great comedic effect and Chanter’s deadpan delivery is spot on providing lots of chuckles. Osborn, as the working class wife who just wants to learn and be loved more, gives a convincing performance and I loved her little flirtations with Kafka.
Carol Hayes has the wonderful job of playing Mother, hobbling on and off stage every so often accompanied by her zimmer frame. She’s desperately trying to avoid being sent to a care home by having to not only remember the date, and the current prime minister but subsequently the details of Kafka’s relationship with his father. A real peach of a Bennett character played to perfection.
Chris Linnat-Scott does a good turn playing Kafka’s awful father in proper cockney geezer mode. He knows a very personal secret about his son and, in true manipulative nasty dad style, and in an attempt to make him look good for the biography that Sydney is writing about his son, bribes Kafka to tell everyone that he’s a good dad or he’ll reveal to all the size of his son’s (cover your eyes) small penis. Yes, the ‘dick’ in Kafka’s Dick is actually about his, umm, dick. No euphemisms here!
It’s interesting how quickly you become enveloped in the continuing absurdness of the play’s action and just when you think you’ve got it, the final scene adds another dimension to the works as Kafka et al find themselves in Heaven greeted by Jacquee Storozynski-Toll who gets an opportunity to sparkle as Angel. She introduces them to all the other writers and playwrights there and they all dance to 'Aga-doo' (again, don't ask), which is where the play comes to an end and, as overheard by an audience member on the way back to the foyer, “I really didn’t get it but it was actually really good!” is possibly the simplest way to sum it up.
If you're looking for a night of laughter, thought-provoking theatre, and a touch of the ‘did I just go to the theatre or have I just woken up from the weirdest dream’ type scenario, Kafka's Dick will tick all the boxes. Ultimately if you’re a fan of Alan Bennett you won’t be disappointed. His observations of human nature strongly resonate and the near sold out Dixon Studio audience were hugely appreciative.
Finishing way before 10pm, it also gives you plenty of time to grab a drink at the bar afterwards. You’ll possible need it!
Review: Kim Tobin
As far as the great European writers of the 20th century go, it’s hard to look beyond the stunning impact that Prague’s Franz Kafka made in the early part of the era, with reverberations of his work still being felt today. In fact, Kafka’s name often crops up in discussions of today’s literature, social criticism, and politics, particularly through the use of the term “Kafkaesque”.
Why has the long deceased writer Franz Kafka and his friend Max Brod suddenly turned up in the living room of a middle-aged couple?
Not only that his horrible dead father turns up too!
Alan Bennett's surreal and funny take on why people are more interested in famous people's private lives than their work.
Kafka's Dick by Alan Bennett has performances at the Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea from Wednesday 20th - Saturday 23rd November at 7.45 nightly with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.
£16.50 & £15.50.
https://trafalgartickets.com/palace-theatre-southend/en-GB/event/play/kafkas-dick-tickets
Cast:
Franz Kafka – Jack Byrne
Max Brod – Steve McCartney
Sydney – Keith Chanter
Linda – Vanessa Obsorn
Mother – Carol Hayes
Herrman Kafka – Chris Linnat-Scott
Recording Angel - Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
Tickets are on sale now at the Palace Theatre website.
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW AND AVOID THE RUSH.
Why has the long deceased writer Franz Kafka and his friend Max Brod suddenly turned up in the living room of a middle-aged couple?
Not only that his horrible dead father turns up too!
Alan Bennett's surreal and funny take on why people are more interested in famous people's private lives than their work.
Kafka's Dick by Alan Bennett has performances at the Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea from Wednesday 20th - Saturday 23rd November at 7.45 nightly with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.
£16.50 & £15.50.
https://trafalgartickets.com/palace-theatre-southend/en-GB/event/play/kafkas-dick-tickets
Cast:
Franz Kafka – Jack Byrne
Max Brod – Steve McCartney
Sydney – Keith Chanter
Linda – Vanessa Obsorn
Mother – Carol Hayes
Herrman Kafka – Chris Linnat-Scott
Recording Angel - Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
Tickets are on sale now at the Palace Theatre website.
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW AND AVOID THE RUSH.
Below: The cast in rehearsal
MEET THE DIRECTOR
Mervyn Howells is the director of Kafka’s Dick
When did you start to take an interest in theatre? Did you take part in any productions at school?
My first theatrical moment was being taken to see the Mikado, I was about then years old I was one of the three Kings in a nativity play, a singing part as I recall.
Are or were any of the members of your family involved in Drama.
My father was an active member with Westcliff Operatic Society and my niece has starred in a production of The Crucible in her native Spain.
Have you done any sort of formal training for acting/singing/dancing?
I have done a couple of courses Acting and Mime at the former Southend College run by our own Val Taylor.
Do you have any specialist skills – anything from stilt walking to dress making – which you work into your repertoire?
Not particularly, I am quite handy at set building and often provide transport for the productions but dress making no.
Which experience/role do you regard as the highlight of your amdram career to date?
Playing Jesse Kiplinger opposite the lovely and talented Hazel Lucas in the Plaza Suite by Neil Simon, I also directed the production as I recall.
What has been your most embarrassing moment involving drama, on or off stage?
Forgetting the name of my love interest whilst on stage, fortunately we had a prompt in those days, a Fawlty Towers moment if you like, although I didn’t pretend to faint to get through it.
How do you earn your living?
I am old so I am now retired, but formerly an I.T. worker for the Government.
Following on from the previous question, has your theatre career ever been useful in your day job and/or have you ever drawn on your day job for any of your stage activities?
The reverse possibly as a former Trade Unionist I have spoken unscripted in front of thousands of people at Public meetings and at Conferences etc Inhibitions soon go.
Are your friends mostly involved in theatre – perhaps even working with you on a regular basis – or do you socialise across a wider circle?
I like to think I have many friends from all walks of life and certainly not all Luvvies.
Which actor do you admire and why?
Actors I admire: Dustin Hoffman (Midnight Cowboy, Rainman) Meryl Streep (Sophie’s Choice, Rikki and the Flash, Derek Jacobi (I Claudius) Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Comer they are all exceptional talents and so versatile.
What role would you most like to play and why?
Something from Dickens like Fagin, Scrooge at my age options are limited.
Ever corpsed on stage - what happened?
One many years ago in a play called Communicating Doors, I was called to attend a room when the actress, bless her on opening the door said Harold why are you here? The late Jean Tyler a wonderful actress left me somewhat nonplussed.
Tell us a bit about “Kafka’s Dick”
My late wife Emmy went to see this play back in the 90’s, I remember Eric Sykes being in it but precious little else, other than enjoying it. Roll forward to our production it is Alan Bennett at his best. He conjures up a scenario that brings characters from 1920’s into the 1980’s. Kafka is an exposed, flawed genius who everybody wants a part of. Great dialogue and humour throughout.
Any plans for the future after Kafka’s Dick?
Retirement and obscurity.
Any tricks for remembering your lines or other useful tips to pass onto others involved in drama?
I seem to have a mental dyslexia these days - my dear friend Lynda Belt used to say think of a Donkey’s Bridge whatever that is?
When did you start to take an interest in theatre? Did you take part in any productions at school?
My first theatrical moment was being taken to see the Mikado, I was about then years old I was one of the three Kings in a nativity play, a singing part as I recall.
Are or were any of the members of your family involved in Drama.
My father was an active member with Westcliff Operatic Society and my niece has starred in a production of The Crucible in her native Spain.
Have you done any sort of formal training for acting/singing/dancing?
I have done a couple of courses Acting and Mime at the former Southend College run by our own Val Taylor.
Do you have any specialist skills – anything from stilt walking to dress making – which you work into your repertoire?
Not particularly, I am quite handy at set building and often provide transport for the productions but dress making no.
Which experience/role do you regard as the highlight of your amdram career to date?
Playing Jesse Kiplinger opposite the lovely and talented Hazel Lucas in the Plaza Suite by Neil Simon, I also directed the production as I recall.
What has been your most embarrassing moment involving drama, on or off stage?
Forgetting the name of my love interest whilst on stage, fortunately we had a prompt in those days, a Fawlty Towers moment if you like, although I didn’t pretend to faint to get through it.
How do you earn your living?
I am old so I am now retired, but formerly an I.T. worker for the Government.
Following on from the previous question, has your theatre career ever been useful in your day job and/or have you ever drawn on your day job for any of your stage activities?
The reverse possibly as a former Trade Unionist I have spoken unscripted in front of thousands of people at Public meetings and at Conferences etc Inhibitions soon go.
Are your friends mostly involved in theatre – perhaps even working with you on a regular basis – or do you socialise across a wider circle?
I like to think I have many friends from all walks of life and certainly not all Luvvies.
Which actor do you admire and why?
Actors I admire: Dustin Hoffman (Midnight Cowboy, Rainman) Meryl Streep (Sophie’s Choice, Rikki and the Flash, Derek Jacobi (I Claudius) Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Comer they are all exceptional talents and so versatile.
What role would you most like to play and why?
Something from Dickens like Fagin, Scrooge at my age options are limited.
Ever corpsed on stage - what happened?
One many years ago in a play called Communicating Doors, I was called to attend a room when the actress, bless her on opening the door said Harold why are you here? The late Jean Tyler a wonderful actress left me somewhat nonplussed.
Tell us a bit about “Kafka’s Dick”
My late wife Emmy went to see this play back in the 90’s, I remember Eric Sykes being in it but precious little else, other than enjoying it. Roll forward to our production it is Alan Bennett at his best. He conjures up a scenario that brings characters from 1920’s into the 1980’s. Kafka is an exposed, flawed genius who everybody wants a part of. Great dialogue and humour throughout.
Any plans for the future after Kafka’s Dick?
Retirement and obscurity.
Any tricks for remembering your lines or other useful tips to pass onto others involved in drama?
I seem to have a mental dyslexia these days - my dear friend Lynda Belt used to say think of a Donkey’s Bridge whatever that is?