Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life

There’s no sign of Jimmy Stewart here, but that is about all that’s missing from this exposé of the struggles of Franz Kafka (Richard E. Grant) as he faces writers block. His “Samsa” character has awoken in the morning and has been turned into a giant… Banana? Well maybe that’s a bit too Freudian? How about a kangaroo? Thing is, his concentration keeps being interrupted. There’s a chap (Ken Stott) looking for his tiny pet. There’s “Miss Cicely” (Elaine Collins) having a party downstairs with a family straight out of an Ingmar Bergman film and then there’s “Frau Bunofsky” (Phyllis Logan) offering him something David Lynch had only recently finished using in one of his films. All of these distractions give him a clue, if only he can step back and clear his thoughts. The expressive Grant appears almost Dickensian as his Kafka - or “F” to his friends - becomes more and more exasperated by his cerebral log-jam, and those frustrations prove to be quite entertaining as we watch this pantomime unfold only here it’s in front of, rather than, behind you! It’s maybe a bit too long, but the ensemble effort works well to raise a smile and I did quite enjoy this.