Playing with the apparatus: Franz Kafka's "In the penal colony" and Barrie Kosky's interpretation for the Melbourne International Arts Festival

In his theatrical production “The Lost Breath” Barrie Kosky establishes a close connection to Franz Kafka’s ‘In the Penal Colony’. The main focus of this chapter is on the playful approach towards the staging of unstable meanings which the two texts have in common. The analysis applies Jacques Derrida’s concept of difference to the texts and focuses on the apparatus in order to reveal theatricality as the dynamic pattern that underlies their making and re-making of meaning. It is uncovered which elements of play and difference are inherent in Kafta’s text and how Kosky transfers them to the stage. Ultimately, the performance serves as an illustration of how Kafka’s ‘playing’ with meaning and the corresponding theatricality of making meaning can be successfully transported to the stage.