A year before his death, Franz Kafka experiences something extraordinary.
While walking through Steglitz Park, Berlin, he encounters a little girl with a broken heart. She has lost her doll. To calm her, Kafka introduces himself as the letter carrier of the dolls and tells her that the doll has left on a journey. But the latter is said to have sent a letter to her former owner that letter carrier Franz will deliver the next day!
For three weeks Franz Kafka devotes himself exclusively to the doll's letters, which he reads to the girl every day. Until finally both soul mates comforted go their separate ways. One to die in a sanatorium in Austria, the other to begin her young life.
No one knows who that little girl was or what happened to Kafka's letters. The only witness, Dora Diamant, Kafka's girlfriend at the time, refused to offer any explanation until her death.
With this possibly true parable under his belt, Thomas Janssens writes a two-hour book on the subject. Thomas Janssens writes a diptych about growing up and saying goodbye. About the incomparable bond between parent and child. Puppet theater where the back is more important than the front!
The side of the child, a school and family performance from 10 years, starts from the girl's point of view;
The side of Kafka, a school and evening performance from 15 years, follows the famous writer's point of view.
And who knows, the pieces of the puzzle might not fall together until you've seen both puppet plays of the diptych!
01.10.2022 – 15:00 – De kant van het kind – Kiem Festival, Cultuurcentrum De Grote Post, Oostende (première)
07.10.2022 – 14:00 – De kant van het kind – 30CC, Leuven (schoolvoorstelling)
08.10.2022 – 20:00 – De kant van Kafka – 30CC, Leuven
13.10.2022 – 14:00 – De kant van het kind – CC Jan Tervaert, Hamme (schoolvoorstelling)
23.10.2022 – 15:00 – De kant van het kind – Arsenaal, Mechelen
24.10.2022 – 13:30 – De kant van Kafka – Arsenaal, Mechelen
25.10.2022 – 20:15 – De kant van Kafka – Arsenaal, Mechelen
09.11.2022 – 20:00 – De kant van Kafka – Arenbergschouwburg, Antwerpen (geannuleerd)
17.11.2022 – 10:00 – De kant van het kind – CC De Spil, Roeselare (schoolvoorstelling)
18.11.2022 – 10:00 – De kant van het kind – CC De Spil, Roeselare (schoolvoorstelling)
19.11.2022 – 20:00 – De kant van Kafka – Cultuurcentrum De Factorij, Zaventem
21.11.2022 – 13:00 – De kant van Kafka/De kant van het kind – CC Sint-Pieters-Woluwe
24.11.2022 – 20:00 – De kant van Kafka – CC De Spil, Roeselare
25.11.2022 – 20:00 – De kant van Kafka – CC De Spil, Roeselare
03.12.2022 – 20:00 – De kant van Kafka – CC Beringen
15.12.2022 – 20:00 – De kant van Kafka – OC Nova, Antwerpen