Cambridge ADC have made a brave stab at this difficult piece. Berkoffs adaptation of Kafkas nightmarish vision requires skilled and focused performers and to a certain degree these young actors pull it off.Adam Lenson plays Joseph K, who is arrested one morning and charged with... well, thats the question. The play charts an innocent man's attempt to discover just exactly what it is he is supposed to have done. The nightmare worsens till he plaintively cries that all he seeks is the date of his interrogation, a situation hundreds of detainees in Guantanamo might well sympathise with. As with them, the law Joseph hopes might protect him proves corrupt and self serving.Lensons performance is terrific, perfectly capturing Josephs desperate dignity. He is ably supported by the rest of the cast who play several parts each, though there are problems with audibility in this three sided space. Director David Ralfe manages to use the space well, though the costume design is strangely non-specific, and the use of music to cover some of the black outs would make the piece less jerky.I do wonder, however, whether such deeply intellectual plays as this one are right for the Edinburgh Fringe. Its not that there isnt an audience for them, its that most venues are not conducive to the intense concentration needed to get the most out of them. These poor actors (and audience) had to put up with stifling heat and intrusively loud music from the show next door and in spite of the performers energetic and committed performances I found it hard to concentrate. Maybe Im being unfair this was my second Kafka show of the day. Whilst its possible to admire the intellect and exposition of the dark and vicious side of human nature, its all so bleak, humourless and nihilistic. Not a man to get stuck in a lift with.
