Kafka's Monkey

The extraordinary Kathryn Hunter once again plays a monkey playing a man as this sell-out production returns to the Young Vic following a hit world tour.

Brutally imprisoned and desperate to escape, the ape-man reveals his rise through the ranks of the beasts to become a master of the 'civilised world' – a walking, talking, spitting, smoking, hard-drinking man of the stage.

Reminiscent of Metamorphosis, A Report to an Academy is quintessential Kafka – a grotesque, brilliant mixture of absurdity and pain.

Colin Teevan's compelling adaptation reveals a world in which humans seem ape-like and apes humane. This witty, heart-rending tale explores the struggle to belong while remaining forever an outsider – a theme with powerful contemporary relevance in our world of cultural and political migrancy.