Witness Kafka's labyrinthine world at the Wayanad Literature Festival 2024.

I JOSEF

An immersive multimedia experience based on Franz Kafka's Der Prozess / The Trial

Presented by Kaivalya Plays and Goethe-Institut New Delhi / Max Mueller Bhavan, in collaboration with Wayanad Literature Festival.

📍 Venue: Norberts Academy, opposite Casa Maria Mystica, Mananthavady

🗓️ Dates: Friday 27th to Sunday 29th December 2024

🕰️ Timeslots: 12pm, 3pm, 4:30pm and 6pm every day, each slot lasts 45 mins.

🗣️ Language: Available in English and German, audiences can switch simultaneously between the two languages.

🎟️ Registration: Limited seats available. Register online at bit.ly/ijosefwlf. A few slots might be available in-person at the door.

About The Experience

I, JOSEF is an immersive ‘headphone theatre’ multimedia experience based on an original adaptation of Franz Kafka’s ‘The Trial’. It places the audience directly in the experience of Josef K, an ordinary bank clerk arrested and put on trial for a crime he doesn’t understand or know. Through vivid soundscapes—footsteps, whispers, eerie silences, city noises, and sudden shouts—the audience steps into K’s unsettling world. With 3D binaural sound and immersive projections, one experiences Kafka’s labyrinthine world from a first-person perspective, making them feel as if they are inside Josef K’s mind, grappling with the confusion and chaos of his unresolved fate.

About The Partners

Kaivalya Plays

Kaivalya Plays is a performing arts and production company led by Varoon P. Anand as its Artistic Director and Gaurav Singh Nijjer as its General Manager. Since 2012, they have built transcultural associations across India and the world. Their artistic work includes original, devised theatre performances that are multilingual, interactive, and hybrid, use technology and media on stage, and are built using techniques of improvisational, documentary, and physical theatre. Through a focus on education, training and community, their work spans diverse offerings of programs across artistic development, language learning, mental health, gender, accessibility, and transcultural collaboration. They have received multiple artistic commissions and grants through their collaborations with Instituto Cervantes Nueva Delhi, Goethe Institut Delhi, MediaFutures and other cultural partners. Their recent artistic work includes I, Josef (2024), The Pillowman (2024) ABSURDO (2023), Mining Hate (2023), Funes The Memorious (2021), Lifeline 99 99 (2021), Unravel (2019), amongst others. Most recently, they were awarded the Creativity Pioneers Fund 2023 by the Moleskine Foundation. 

Goethe-Institut New Delhi / Max Mueller Bhavan

The Goethe-Institut is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global reach. They promote knowledge of the German language abroad and foster international cultural cooperation. They convey a comprehensive picture of Germany by providing information on Germany's cultural, social and political life. The Goethe-Institut in New Delhi like all the other institutes in India, is known as Max Mueller Bhavan – in honour of Max Müller (1823-1900), a scholar of comparative religion and co-founder of modern Indian studies. The institute offers language courses, organises cultural events and has a modern and well-equipped library. 

Wayanad Literature Festival

Wayanad Literature Festival (WLF) is India’s largest rurally-held literature festival, held every alternate December in the serene village of Wayanad, Kerala. This year, the four-day celebration will take place from December 26-29, 2024. The second edition will feature a diverse range of events, including the Literature Festival, International Academic Conference, All India Arts & Crafts Fair, Film Festival, Book Exhibition, Food Festival, Farmers Market, Heritage Walk, Art Biennale, Children’s Arena, Chess Tournament, and Masterclasses in Fashion, Photography, and Entrepreneurship, among others. We look forward to a meaningful celebration of literature and the arts, guided by the festival theme of "Resilience, Expression, and Representation" in the picturesque hills of Wayanad this December. The previous edition, held in December 2022, was inaugurated by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, with a special message from Shri Rahul Gandhi, MP from Wayanad. The 2022 edition saw the participation of over 100 authors, including Arundhati Roy, Sanjay Kak, K. Satchidanandan, and KR Meera, drawing nearly 20,000 visitors. The 2024 festival will be even bigger, with the addition of an International Academic Conference, bringing eminent scholars from across the globe. Christophe Jaffrelot, a leading scholar on India from King’s College London, will deliver the keynote address at the conference.