Amerika
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall

America

Franz Kafka

Premiere: March 20, 2026 / Salzburg State Theatre

Synopsis

Kafka calls Karl Roßmann, the protagonist of his first novel, a “modern David Copperfield”. Aged only 16, Karl is sent to America by his parents. Like many people before him, he is expected to build a new life for himself there. But this is no “rags to riches” story. On the contrary: Affected by his own naivety, unhappy circumstances and injustice, the boy falls into increasingly desperate situations. He is at the mercy of his surroundings, and all his efforts to take control of his destiny fail.

“America” is an emigrant’s story, and it is also the opposite of a coming-of-age novel: Somebody is pursuing his happiness in the New World and ends up a nobody. Kafka chronicles the social decline of his protagonist in absurd adventures and dissects the American dream in a humorous and sarcastic manner. He explores what it is like to be a stranger, to lose one’s world and to embark on an existential search as a displaced person in the modern world. In some ways, “America” constitutes an exception in Franz Kafka’s oeuvre. According to Max Brod, the author himself was convinced “that this novel is lighter and more hopeful” than anything else he had written. “America” was published posthumously in 1927 by Kafka’s friend Max Brod.

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) was plagued by self-doubt throughout his life. This insecurity is also reflected in his texts, which often describe absurd, confusing or grotesque events. His style is considered unique and does not match the categories of any literary period or movement. Kurt Tucholsky wrote about Kafka’s great novel “America”, which he called “The Missing Person”, in his diaries: “This is the very rare case of someone who does not understand life and is actually quite right.”

Georg Schmiedleitner was a co-founder of the Phönix Theatre in Linz and served as its artistic director from 1989 to 1996. He has been working as a freelance director since 1996. His production of Shakespeare’s “Richard III” at the Theater Regensburg was nominated for the German theatre award “Der Faust” in 2022. He also staged “The Last Days of Mankind” at the Salzburg Festival in 2014.

We offer introductory talks 45 and 30 minutes ahead of each performance.