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Franz Kafka Cancels His Cell Phone Plan by Kirk Shimano play script cover

Franz Kafka Cancels His Cell Phone Plan

by Kirk Shimano Canadian Author

A modern absurdist play that takes elements from three of Franz Kafka’s works (The Castle, The Trial, and The Metamorphosis) and puts them into the context of the everyday absurdities of our 21st century lives.

Your students will embrace the slightly off-balance world and enjoy stepping into these unconventional characters.

Will Franz Kafka ever succeed in escaping his mobile phone contract? Will the Inspector’s mysterious charges ever be revealed? And will someone turn into a giant insect somewhere along the way?

Comedy

Recommended for High Schools and Middle Schools

At a Glance

Running Time
About 25 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
5 Characters
5 Any Gender
Set
Simple set
Length
17 pages
Free Excerpt
Classroom Study Guide
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Performance Royalty Fees

Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.

5 Characters

  • 5 Any Gender

Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.

  • FRANZ KAFKA Any gender 69 lines
    The hero of our story, an everyman just trying to accomplish a simple task.
  • GARDENA Any gender 23 lines
    Long-term employee at the cell phone store. Being helpful is against her religion.
  • BARNABUS Any gender 37 lines
    A more recent addition to the cell phone store. Happy to help where he can!
  • THE INSPECTOR Any gender 16 lines
    An inspector.
  • HULD Any gender 33 lines
    A prodigiously skilled elocutionist and arbitrator, but you’ve probably already heard of him by reputation.

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From the Drama Teacher Learning Centre

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