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Legal Inspiration for Kafka's "The Trial" at the Landestheater Linz

A fascinating bridge between the arts and academia as Kafka's "The Trial" premieres at the Landestheater Linz on September 23, 2022.

From the left: Front: Birklbauer, Julian Sigl (actor playing "K" in the production), Matthias Neumayr (OGH); Second row seated: Brezina, Resch, Anja Jemc (assistant director); standing back from right: dramaturge Martin Mader, director Peter Wittenberg.  and other cast members.
From the left: Front: Birklbauer, Julian Sigl (actor playing "K" in the production), Matthias Neumayr (OGH); Second row seated: Brezina, Resch, Anja Jemc (assistant director); standing back from right: dramaturge Martin Mader, director Peter Wittenberg. and other cast members.

Director Peter Wittenberg and artistic director Hermann Schneider sought the advice of experts, namely legal experts at the Johannes Kepler University Linz. The directing team, actors, and other ensemble members met with legal experts including Prof. Alois Birklbauer, Prof. Reinhard Resch (both JKU), as well as Honorary Professor Matthias Neumayr (Vice President of the Supreme Court). Gernot Brezina (Austrian Student Union representative in Law) was on hand to provide a student perspective.

In terms of content, they discussed the life and times of Kafka (his profession as a legal expert in the field of statutory accident insurance in Prague) as well as main character K’s special situation during the trial. It is the absence of rule-of-law principles in the first place that facilitates dystopian helplessness in the face of the system. Dramaturge Martin Mader remarked: "The interaction was very enriching, especially in support of our production. Taking a legal view of Kafka's trial helps us to better understand what a constitutional state is and the differences to Kafka's novel come to light. We believe these findings will impact the staging and dramaturgical understanding."

There are plans to continue the collaboration by, for example, encouraging law students to attend certain performances as well as perhaps organizing a joint round of talks with the director’s team and actors.