Kafka: The Trial

ABOUT THE BALLET

In the dark of sleep, a door opens and a woman enters dressed in sheets of paper, symbolizing the fate and the trial that will rage against the protagonist…

Thus is the incipit of The Trial, a ballet by the distinguished Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti, who has been loosely inspired by Franz Kafka’s eponymous 1914 literary masterpiece – its fascinating language, traumatizing plot and still valid message.

The modern production, abounding in dramatic twists and turns, reproduces the story of Josef K., who wakes up on his 30th birthday and finds beside his bed three police agents who want to arrest him for reasons that he doesn’t understand. The disoriented and incredulous protagonist is subsequently carried into a judicial machinery that drags him into a whirl of weird events.

Soloists and corps de ballet of The Czech National Ballet

The hats for the Czech National Ballet production Kafka: Proces were donated by TONAK, a. s., the traditional hat maker for 220 years.

Photo of the visual image: Anna Rasmussen
Photographers for production: Martin Divíšek, Pavel Hejný