Kafka - in falschen Händen

In the organizer's words:

Kafka - in the wrong hands

"Everything, without exception, is to be burned, preferably unread, and I ask you to do this as soon as possible." With these words, the dying Franz Kafka placed his work in the hands of his closest friend Max Brod. An inconceivable request: to let all the loneliness, depth of thought and doubt captured in his texts turn to ashes.

The myth of Franz Kafka is also the story of a deep, unshakeable friendship. Kafka and Brod - two soul mates who found solace and deepest fulfillment in the exchange of words. A dialog of thoughts, fears and hopes that shaped both their lives.

Brod decided to claim his friend's legacy for himself and lift it out of the darkness. He believed he recognized a higher, deeper purpose in the shadows of Kafka's thoughts, one that went beyond the life of the author himself.

This evening poses the question of what we owe to the words of another person. And what we owe to the truth. Whether betrayal or liberation - perhaps the answer lies between these poles, in a truth that Kafka himself sought to question.

SUPPORTED BY: Cultural Office of the City of Cologne

A production of the nö theater. Staging: Patric Welzbacher | Acting: Janosch Roloff | Lighting: Chiara Tess-Krogull