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.
‘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
