Franz Kafka's In the Penal Colony: Performance and Symposium

Saturday, September 21, 2024 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)
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Thank you to all who attended! This event has past. Please enjoy a selection of photos from the event.

Franz Kafka's in the Penal Colony Poster on a chair
Poster reading "The Machine Redeems" with image of a robot eatinga rocket
People watching a perfomeance in a room with a circular window in the ceiling
A man standing looking out at an audience who is sitting around a circular well in the floor
A man in black apron gesturing
a man in a black apron holdng his head against a black pillar
a man in a black apron standing in front of a well in the floor with audience members sitting around him
a man in a black apron, arms are held to the sky in appeal and the backgrund is a circular opening in the ceiling
man in a black apron with a tool kit on his belt gesturing to the audience
audience members watch the perfomance
poster on wall reading "you improved" with imagery of beakers and a sicentist
audience members watch performaer stand on a table, the circular opening in the ceiling is also visible from a wide angle
man in a black apron gestures to audience members in a small hallway, he is far away from the audience
man in a black apron gestures to audience members in a small hallway, he is standing among them
man in black apron kneels before audience members as he gestures in a small hallway
someone playing a standup piano
man in a black apron gestures to audience members in a small hallway
man in black apron, lit by a light stands on a table and gestures
man in blackapron lies belly down on a bench arms and legs spread wide
man in black apron kneels in front of bench audience members watch on
man with coveralls with a surprised expression
man in ablack apron gestures to the wall, man in a white shirt watching with hands folded
man in black apron kneels before audience member in small hallway, closer image
a man in a black apron, arms are held to the sky in appeal and the backgrund is a circular opening in the ceiling, wide angle with bannister in view
Franz Kafka's in the Penal Colony Poster on a chair
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Poster reading "The Machine Redeems" with image of a robot eatinga rocket
2 / 24
People watching a perfomeance in a room with a circular window in the ceiling
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A man standing looking out at an audience who is sitting around a circular well in the floor
4 / 24
A man in black apron gesturing
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a man in a black apron holdng his head against a black pillar
6 / 24
a man in a black apron standing in front of a well in the floor with audience members sitting around him
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a man in a black apron, arms are held to the sky in appeal and the backgrund is a circular opening in the ceiling
8 / 24
man in a black apron with a tool kit on his belt gesturing to the audience
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audience members watch the perfomance
10 / 24
poster on wall reading "you improved" with imagery of beakers and a sicentist
11 / 24
audience members watch performaer stand on a table, the circular opening in the ceiling is also visible from a wide angle
12 / 24
man in a black apron gestures to audience members in a small hallway, he is far away from the audience
13 / 24
man in a black apron gestures to audience members in a small hallway, he is standing among them
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man in black apron kneels before audience members as he gestures in a small hallway
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someone playing a standup piano
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man in a black apron gestures to audience members in a small hallway
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man in black apron, lit by a light stands on a table and gestures
18 / 24
man in blackapron lies belly down on a bench arms and legs spread wide
19 / 24
man in black apron kneels in front of bench audience members watch on
20 / 24
man with coveralls with a surprised expression
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man in ablack apron gestures to the wall, man in a white shirt watching with hands folded
22 / 24
man in black apron kneels before audience member in small hallway, closer image
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a man in a black apron, arms are held to the sky in appeal and the backgrund is a circular opening in the ceiling, wide angle with bannister in view
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Franz Kafk's In the Penal Colony

In the Penal Colony: Performance and Symposium (University of Waterloo, September 21, 2024)

Text by Franz Kafka; Performance created by Kevin White, Andy Houston, Jay Havens, Aaron El Sabrout, and Meghan Bunce.

Symposium to follow the performance, featuring a response to In the Penal Colony by Dr. Paul Malone, Dr. Leslie Wexler, Dr. Matt Borland, and Dr. Katherine Bruce-Lockhart

The Waterloo Centre for German Studies and the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Waterloo are proud to present In the Penal Colony, a performance and symposium event.

Based on Franz Kafka’s 1915 short story, this site-responsive performance reveals contemporary resonances in unexpected and engaging ways as it animates Kafka’s story through the unique architectural qualities of the of the staging location. Following the performance, In the Penal Colony will be discussed by University of Waterloo scholars, reflecting on Kafka’s representation of early 20th century colonial incarceration and its continued impact in the present day.

Commemorating the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka's death in 1924, the event addresses the aspects of his writing that identify the Euro-colonial apparatus that structured society in Kafka’s time and its legacies in education, law, policing, politics, and architecture today.

Kafka asks us to view the world differently, from our position of privilege and benefit. In the Penal Colony asks, can we recognize the machinery that operates within our lives? Can we identify the parts of this apparatus that shape our lives and understanding of the world?

“If the book we’re reading doesn’t wake us up with a blow on the head, what are we reading it for?... We need books to affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.”

  • From a letter written by Franz Kafka, January 27, 1904

Event Details

  • When:  Saturday, September 21, 2024 2:00pm - 6:00pm
    • Performance begins at 2:00 pm
    • Reception begins at 3:30pm (Refreshments will be served. The event is FREE, but we ask that you register for our catering numbers)
    • Symposium begins at 4:00 pm
  • Where: J.R. Coutts Engineering Lecture Hall (RCH), University of Waterloo.
    • Please arrive at the entrance to the J.R. Coutts Engineering Lecture Hall (RCH), on the right side of the building closest to the Graduate House and the Douglas Wright Engineering Building.
    • Please note that the performance takes place on multiple levels and audience members will have to move with the performer. For information about accessibility please contact Andy Houston
  • Visitor Parking Available: Visitors to the university can park in Lot H on campus for a flat rate of $7.00/day. If H Lot is full, there is additional parking across the street on the corner of University Ave W and Seagram Dr also at a flat rate of $7.00/day. An interactive parking map for these lots and the university campus can be viewed here.
  • For more information about the performance or symposium please contact Andy Houston.
  • For information regarding registration or parking, please contact Misty Matthews-Roper.
Location Information
Location Address: RCH - J.R. Coutts Engineering Lecture Hall
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, ON, CA  N2L 3G1
Location coordinates:
Additional Information
Cost: Free