The Trial, Young Vic

The Trial: plot summary
On the morning of his 30th birthday, two policemen turn up on Josef K's doorstep. Neither he nor his accusers are sure of the crime Josef is supposed to have committed. He enlists the help of a morally dubious Lawyer before he is taken to court. Banker Josef is thrown into the neverending 'Process' (the novel's original German title.) He is pinballed from priest to warder to police inspector— never convicted, nothing ever fully explained. "I'm not guilty!" Josef protests, "There's been a mistake. How is it even possible for someone to be guilty? We're all human beings here." But his priest only replies, "That's true. But that's what a guilty man would say.". Published posthumously in 1925, Kafka's The Trial has since made it onto lists of Top 100 Books of the Century. It was banned by the Soviet Union and hailed as a masterpiece by those living under Nazi dictatorship.

Legendary actor Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear takes on the title role. The last time Kinnear was on the London stage was 2013, in National Theatre's Othello, where his portrayal of insidious Iago won a second Evening standard award, to go alongside two Oliviers and a British Independent Film Award. As well as starring in films such as Skyfall and Charlie Brooker's dystopian Black Mirror series, Kinnear is one of the stalwarts of London's stage. His Hamlet at the National was a masterclass in vulnerability and power of language. His other classical roles include Iago in Othello ("a stunning study of a sociopath" - The Guardian) and Angelo in Measure for Measure ("beautifully executed performance" - The Independent) This latest casting only confirms Kinnear's place alongside such greats as Simon Russell Beale and Mark Rylance.

The Trial film and play: from prose to performance
The Trial has been adapted many times for screen and stage. These include a film with a screenplay by Harold Pinter directed by Orson Welles and the National Theatre's 1970s adaptation by absurdist playwright Stephen Berkoff. But it is up-and-comer Nick Gill who will be adapting Kafka's novel fror 2015. Gill is a surprisingly new face for such an important production. His two full length plays Mirror Teeth (Finborough World Premiere 2011) and Fiji Land (Winner of Amnesty International's Protect the Human Award) were both lauded. He was nominated for Most Promising Playwright by the Off West End Stage Awards. Gill's writing has been compare to that of Eugene Ionesco and Mark Ravenhill, appropriately enough and he's been praised for particularly sharp satire. We are intrigued to see what this new talent will bring to to the famous story.

Maverick director Richard Jones
Likewise director Richard Jones boasts a love of plays "that make me feel as if I'm hallucinating." His background in inventive productions such as Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector at the Young Vic in 2011 makes Jones an interesting match for the disquieting themes of justice and terror. Throw in Royal Opera House designer Miriam Buether, who was responsible for the premiere of Anthony Neilson's The Wonderful World of Dissocia— a dream-like exploration of dissociative disorder, and audiences can certainly expect a spectacle.
Tickets: Young Vic booking

With such a high-profile star, and the Young Vic's history of selling out well in advance of opening night, The Trial will be a hot ticket. Public booking opens at 10am on Friday 13th February -- be ready. Members' booking is already open.