Kafka`s Monkey

Kafka’s Monkey
Press Night 24 May 7.30pm
19 May – 11 June
The Maria
The extraordinary Kathryn Hunter once again plays a monkey playing a man as this sellsell -out
production returns to the Young Vic following a hit world tour.
‘Esteemed members of the academy! You have done me the great honour of inviting me to give you an
account of my former life as an ape.’
Brutally imprisoned and desperate to escape, the ape-man reveals his rise through the ranks of the beasts
to become a master of the ‘civilised world’ – a walking, talking, spitting, smoking, hard-drinking man of
the stage.
Reminiscent of Metamorphosis, A Report to an Academy is quintessential Kafka – a grotesque, brilliant
mixture of absurdity and pain.
Colin Teevan’s compelling adaptation reveals a world in which humans seem ape-like and apes humane.
This witty, heart-rending tale explores the struggle to belong while remaining forever an outsider – a
theme with powerful contemporary relevance in our world of cultural and political migrancy.
Kathryn Hunter returns to the Young Vic where she also performed in Peter Brook’s Fragments (Young
Vic/ Bouffes du Nord/ world tour). Other recent acting credits include Antony & Cleopatra, King Lear
and The Grain Store (all RSC), The Diver (Soho Theatre), Yerma (Arcola) and The Visit (National
Theatre) for which she won an Olivier Award. Amongst her film credits are Mike Leigh’s All or Nothing
and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. As a director her credits include Othello (RSC), The
Birds (NT) and Pericles (The Globe).
Colin Teevan is a celebrated playwright and translator whose work has premiered at the National
Theatres of Scotland, Ireland and England. His recent play The Lion of Kabul was produced as part of
the Tricycle’s Great Game: Afghanistan. He has worked with Kathryn Hunter before on The Bee at the
Soho Theatre and is a regular collaborator of directors Hideki Noda, Sir Peter Hall and actors Clare
Higgins and Greg Hicks.
Walter Meierjohann
Meierjohann’s recent UK directing credits include Tarell Alvin McCraney’s In the Red and
Brown Water (Young Vic) and All My Sons (Curve). Walter was artistic director of the Contemporary
International Line of The Dresden State Theatre from 2004 – 2007. His short film Dear Anna starring
Kathryn Hunter and Marcello Magni is currently in post-production.
Booking for Friends of the Young Vic opens Monday 14 March. Public booking opens Monday 28
March. Tickets and information www.youngvic.org 020 7922 2922
Kafka’s Monkey is directed by Walter Meierjohann, with design by Steffi Wurster, costume by
Richard Hudson, sound by Nikola Kodjabashia and movement by Ilan Reichel.
Reichel .
For further press enquiries contact:
Laura Myers Press Manager
Manag er on 020 7922
7922 2979 lauramyers@youngvic.org