The Toronto Premiere of Kafka’s Ape at SummerWorks 2014

image courtesy of Infinithéâtre

Kafka’s Ape, directed by Guy Sprung and presented by Infinitheatre of Montreal, was part of SummerWorks 2014. The play was an updated version of Franz Kafka’s piece “Ein Bericht für eine Akademie” (Report to an Academy), originally written in 1917.
We learned the story of Redpeter, an ape who was captured by Graywater Corporation, a worldwide private security and paramilitary organization.
Determined to survive, Redpeter learned to become a human and a valued employee of Graywater.
He became skilled at militia work and was sent on missions all over on behalf of Graywater.
Redpeter was the keynote speaker at the annual shareholders meeting of Graywater and throughout the play, he slowly became unraveled.

His wife, Mrs. Redpeter, a former circus chimpanzee, did not become humanized.

Howard Rosenstein as Redpeter was absolutely mesmerizing. His intense performance as a humanized ape was riveting.

Alexandra Montagnese as Mrs. Redpeter was outstanding as well.
Both Rosenstein and Montagnese captured the primate physical qualities and made their characters quite believable.

This is an excellent production, especially for those who are fans of Kafka.