Cast

Narrator/Torturer/Waiting Man/Uncle ... Wil Bowers

Clowns ... Rosanna Cacace, Wendy Gough, Stacie Wengryn, Mary Beth Menna

Josef K ... Christopher Goodman

Franz/1st Guard/Prison Guard ... John Patrick Patti

Wilhelm/2nd Guard/Prison Guard 2 ... Wakai Sol

Inspector/Chaplain ... Jonathan Ginsberg

Deputy Director ... Jonathan Harrison

The Loudspeaker/Elegant Man ... Matthew St. JAmes

Mrs. Grubach ... Trader Selkirk

Miss Burstner ... Elizabeth A. Hillman

The Laundress ... Sabra Malkinson

Student/Block ... Matthew Godfrey

Leni ... Emilie Davezac

Titorelli ...Ralph Lister

Producing Artistic Director, John Lant and Write Act Repertory Company bring Franz Kafka’s The Trial to the Los Angeles community for the first time creating a visually stunning theatrical experience that not only provokes and stretches our thinking, but stimulates out hearts. With touches of circus and high drama, Kafka’s social satire is expertly crafted by Director Aclan Bates-Buyukturkoglu, who mixes a grotesque picture with the eye of the humorist, drawing out the farcical and slapstick elements from this provocative stage adaptation by Andre Gide and Jean-Louis Barrault.  Film/TV set designer Robert Howeth, makes his stage debut with a haunting and multi leveled design enabling the story to shift seamlessly. Designer Wendy Gough of Arlecchina's Masks created over 60 masks for the ensemble, animating the satirical elements while Turkish composer Kemal Günüç's original musical score transforms the drama into circus macabre.

LA WEELKY 3/25/04

Director Aclan Bates-Buyukturkoglu takes on André Gide’s rarely performed stage adaptation of Franz Kafka’s novel about totalitarianism run amok. Those who have read the book might be puzzled why Buyukturkoglu chose to give it such a densely expressionist rendering, but the fine cast and production staff keep it entertaining and accessible. Bank manager Josef K (Christopher Goodman) wakes up one morning accused by the authorities of an unspecified crime he has no knowledge of. In short order, K finds himself entangled in a nightmare, a macabre circus of eerie, masked figures, labyrinthine detours, inexplicable events and bureaucratic madness, as the wheels of “justice” and the “law” ultimately crush him in their inexorable progression. The large ensemble does excellent work throughout this visually appealing production. Robert Howeth has constructed a striking, two-tiered set piece with Gothic tinctures. Wendy Gough’s haunting masks contribute to the atmosphere of parlous mystery, as does Kemal Günüç’s original score, which features a chilling piano and clarinet duo. Write Act Theater, 6128 Yucca St., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m. (no perfs April 8-10); thru May 1. (323) 860-8894).

Back Stage West
April 01, 2004

THE TRIAL
Write Act Repertory Theatre

Reviewed By Wenzel Jones

The initial moments of mime, mirror games, and marionette dancing are unfortunate as they give the impression you've stumbled into a stale celebration of the earnest and the whimsical. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's soon clear that director Aclan Bates-Buyukturkoglu has ideas aplenty when it comes to staging this sprawling adaptation (Andre Gide and Jean-Louis Barrault) of Franz Kafka's rumination on authority, obedience, and futility.

Josef K (Christopher Goodman) awakens on his 30th birthday to find himself being arrested at his own breakfast table and spends the rest of the show trying to find out why. Bates-Buyukturkoglu, aided greatly by Robert Howeth's bulky brooding set, has created a particularly malevolent universe in which Josef can wander dazedly. There is a constant susurration of indistinct voices that make an aural wallpaper of paranoia, while the inventive and elegant masks by Wendy Gough essentially triple the size of an already large cast. Faces are constantly popping around corners, and there's not a single conversation that happens without at least five ears pressed to the door. Kemal Günüç's original music is deliciously dark, riffing on the underlying circus theme in a bleakly minor key.

Goodman does a fine job in anchoring the production. He exhibits an affability that holds the audience's attention even while the characters around him become more disturbing. He receives impressive support from the ensemble, particularly John Jeffrey Soroka in two utterly different turns, first as an injured bear of a bailiff and then as the character's opposite, a rapacious lawyer. There are a couple of grotesques—one consumed by priapism and the other by litigation—who are nicely limned by Matthew Godfrey, who knows when to stop adding layers of weirdness. Trader Selkirk creates a marvelously creepy landlady, who is possessed of one of the more skin-crawling smiles seen on local stages. Wil Bowers, who begins as Josef's reflection and goes on to carry the bulk of the circus imagery in his multiple roles, acquits himself nicely. Elizabeth Hillman, Sabra Malkinson, and Emilie Davezac are enjoyable, but the female characters, or at least the ones being played by women, aren't nearly as rich because, presaging Hollywood by many years, the roles are short and they're generally duplicitous whores.

The costumes, and there are a lot of them, show an eye for the understated on the part of Becky Hofmann... How often does one leave the theatre humming the mise-en-scène?

Photos: Lou Briggs