Kafka And Son NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Part of Soho Playhouse's Fringe Encore Series: Adapted from a letter Kafka wrote to his dad, this solo drama is a blistering dissection of domestic authority, and a visit with one of the architects of the modern psyche.
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See it if You want to see a fine performance and an imaginative staging of a great literary work. The final image is haunting and perfectly realized.
Don't see it if You have little affinity for one person shows or new, dramatic renditions of classic work.
See it if you're in the mood for a dark and twisted family dynamic, a compelling and often unreliable narrator, a meandering narrative, & a spare set.
Don't see it if you want a more traditional play with multiple roles, external rather than internal conflict, and a clear plot.
See it if you’re up for a solid performance and super writing on the lifelong effects a dismissive parent can have on a person. Very sobering show.
Don't see it if you’re not going to side with Kafka (duh); you can’t watch a weak, terrified, vulnerable man without blaming him for his own diffidence. Read more
See it if You want to see a different one person show with some great stage elements.
Don't see it if You want to see something fast paced or light and fluffy. Read more
See it if You are very familiar with Kafka. You enjoy the letter-reading play format. You want a terrific performance & striking staging.
Don't see it if You have little-no familiarity w/Kafka. This is the advanced class: there's an assumed context for the letter & it won't be explained. Read more
See it if you are interested in learning about Kafka and his family background. If you like experimental theater or one man shows.
Don't see it if you don't want to have to concentrate too much. Despite this being just about 1 hour, I felt my attention lag at times. It felt longer.
See it if You have a burning desire to see one mans version of what Kafka’s childhood was like.
Don't see it if You feel like you’ve got a good idea of what Kafka’s childhood was like from what you already know about him. Yeah, it’s just like that.
See it if You want a tedious well acted one man show.
Don't see it if You are not enthralled to hear details of a painful and rather uninteresting childhood.
Critic Reviews (14)
“A masterpiece…This performance navigates Kafka’s journey to try and quantify this fear, and the results are stunning…Nashman is outstanding in his work, able to work the room to such an extent that the audience knows something wonderful is about to unfold before the play even kicks off…Nashman manages to speak to every audience member as if directly, and be present in a world of his own all at once. His performance is to be marveled at: immersive, compelling and first class.”
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“Perfectly staged…The show is structured excellently and Nashman holds the audience in the palm of his hand, however moments of poetic dance and movement may leave some bemused...'Kafka and Son' is not an easy watch, however, it is intense, intimate, moving and unmissable if you’re a fan of the author’s work. The show gives an insight into his writing that perhaps may not have been considered, while being performed powerfully well."
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"Alon Nashman here allows us a dramatic insight into what the personal life was like for Franz Kafka...The father figure is presented as fierce, overwhelming but also having his weaknesses, his desires, and his hopes for his son. Alon Nashman manages to let us see him as a complex human being...This is a piece of acting of real intensity, with humor and with pathos...It is full of piercing insights and ideas, and is extremely well worth catching."
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"At the first exchange between Kafka and son, the performance took on a striking new tone. Alon Nashman was transformed from the sickly, emotional Franz into the powerful, dominant Hermann bringing life to the imagined conversation...All props on the stage were used with precision and enormous impact...'Kafka and Son' is an intense study of the human condition and its limitations and deep connections."
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"If this letter, written by Kafka to his father in 1919, were read out by a motionless man on a propless stage it would be powerful enough. Performed by Alon Nashman, it is simply breathtaking...The piece is staggeringly insightful. Ideas about gratitude, guilt, power and disobedience feel fresh and contemporary. Nashman articulates the knot inside Kafka with such intensity that it becomes a visual thing."
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"It’s an intimate, horrifying and at times hilariously biting extrapolation on a father-son relationship fueled by narcissism, fear, sarcasm and one-upmanship, on the part of the father, and exacerbated by the son’s low self-esteem, physical puniness and inability to fight back. It’s a horror story told with a fierce sense of intimacy that is both riveting and disturbing. Nashman is an unbelievably fine performer...'Kafka and Son' is a defining, uncompromising piece of brilliance."
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