Open Call: Oklahoma Transforms Kafka's World of Longing into Great Theater
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A Dubious Promise: Kafka on the Stage of the Markgrafentheater
When Karl Roßmann reads the call of the nature theatre of Oklahoma, it echoes a promise of work, belonging, and a new beginning. In Open Call: Oklahoma, the Schauspiel Erlangen brings Franz Kafka's fragment into a profoundly humorous present. The performance on October 30, 2026, at the Markgrafentheater Großes Haus takes us deep into a world where everyone seems welcome – and precisely because of that, it arouses suspicion.
Kafka's American Dream with Cracks
The fragment The Nature Theatre of Oklahoma was posthumously classified as the last chapter of Kafka's novel America. The dramaturgy revolves around a young immigrant whose path through the world of work is marked by rejection and loss of control. Now, a theatre ensemble lures with the promise of meaning and acceptance. Yet behind the promise of an open community, a strange order emerges.
The production by Tomas Schweigen combines grotesque comedy with political contemporary references. Work, social roles, belonging, and the mechanisms of modern promises fall into a colorful tension field. Kafka's absurd situations unfold a peculiar closeness to the present: laughter gets stuck in the throat, as the stage produces ever new rules.
Absurd Rituals and Colorful Tightness
The acting art of the ensemble moves between slapstick, choral movements, and irritating precision. Cryptic announcements, dances, and drinking songs transform the stage into a ritualized job interview, whose meaning is constantly shifting. The repetitive form creates a peculiar theatrical atmosphere: colorful yet constricting, funny yet threatening.
Set design, costumes, and video are by Stephan Weber. The music by Martin Gantenbein expands the stage space with an additional layer of perception, while the dramaturgy by Linda Best keeps the fractures between hope and disillusionment visible. This creates a stage experience that does not aim for a safe resolution but draws its audience into the contradictions of the characters.
An Ensemble Between Hope and Helplessness
Lena Drieschner, Tobias Graupner, Vera von Gunten, Luca Hass, Johannes Rebers, Silvester von Hößlin, and Ralph Jung embody the characters of this peculiar theatrical world. Their harmonious ensemble work carries the production through abrupt tonal shifts, grotesque situations, and moments of surprising tenderness.
The press highlighted the connection of absurd bureaucracy, hope, and the search for belonging. The colorful yet confining stage world and the precise interplay of the ensemble were particularly emphasized. This develops a directorial work that does not treat Kafka's literary template in a museum-like manner but uses it as living material for a political and sensual stage art.
Conclusion: An Evening at the Theater Full of Questions
Open Call: Oklahoma invites its audience on a mad journey through longing, the world of work, and societal promises. The performance connects Kafka's reception, contemporary direction, grotesque comedy, and strong ensemble work into a theater evening that resonates. Those who want to experience how a seemingly friendly call turns into a disturbing stage vision should attend this performance live at the Markgrafentheater.
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