Kafka Comes To Life: Hyderabad To Host A Week Of Workshops, Exhibits, and Immersive Storytelling
A week-long program of performances, workshops, and exhibitions reimagine the Jewish writer for today’s stage and screen.
Published : August 13, 2025 at 1:10 PM IST
One hundred and one years after the noted writer and novelist Franz Kafka’s death, his words still haunt our imagination. If you are in Hyderabad, this is your chance to step inside Kafka's strange, timeless world through Kafka@101. A week-long program of performances, workshops, and exhibitions reimagine the Jewish writer for today’s stage and screen.
Presented by Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad, in collaboration with Kaivalya Plays, Hyderabad Children’s Theatre Festival, Rangbhoomi, and Saptaparni, the festival is scheduled to run from August 25 to 31. The festival promises to blends literature, theatre, and visual arts in fresh, unexpected ways.
The program will see four main events:
Video as Storyteller (25 Aug, Saptaparni) — A hands-on introduction to using video and projections to transform live storytelling. No technical experience required.
The Actor’s Toolbox (26 Aug, Saptaparni) — A workshop weaving together Viola Spolin’s improvisation techniques and the Indian classical Navrasa method for performers of all backgrounds.
I, JOSEF (26–31 Aug, Rangbhoomi)— An intimate, immersive multimedia reimagining of Kafka’s The Trial, available in English and German, with limited audience slots.
Komplett Kafka (26–31 Aug, Rangbhoomi and 1-14 Sept at Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad) — A free comic-photo exhibition based on Austrian artist Nicolas Mahler’s illustrated biography of Kafka.
Founded in 2012, Kaivalya Plays is a New Delhi-based arts organization known for its original productions, improv theatre, and innovative projects at the intersection of performance and technology. Their works often explore contemporary social themes while experimenting with new forms of audience engagement.
“I, JOSEF is an invitation to feel the alienation, absurdity, and quiet desperation that Kafka captured so sharply. “It’s not a literal retelling of The Trial, it’s an emotional immersion.” says Gaurav Singh Nijjer, director of I, Josef. “This program reflects our ethos of making theatre an accessible, collaborative space,” adds Varoon P. Anand, Artistic Director of Kaivalya Plays. “By bringing together workshops, performance, and visual art, we hope to spark curiosity in audiences who might be encountering Kafka for the first time.”
About I Josef
I, JOSEF is an immersive ‘headphone theatre’ multimedia experience based on an original adaptation of Franz Kafka’s ‘The Trial’. It places the audience directly in the experience of Josef K, an ordinary bank clerk arrested and put on trial for a crime he doesn’t understand or know. Through vivid soundscapes—footsteps, whispers, eerie silences, city noises, and sudden shouts—the audience steps into K’s unsettling world. With 3D binaural sound and immersive projections, one experiences Kafka’s labyrinthine world from a first-person perspective, making them feel as if they are inside Josef K’s mind, grappling with the confusion and chaos of his unresolved fate.
From exploring the paranoia of The Trial through immersive performance, to examining Kafka’s life in witty illustrated panels, the program promises entry points for literature enthusiasts, theatre lovers, and first-time Kafka readers alike.
When: From August 25 to 31
Where: Rangbhoomi Spaces & Events
Tickets: Available Online
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