←Recommendations of Just Try!

Hilder's dazzling play pulls liberally from the tropes and settings of Kafka's works, but it creates an absurdist, existential landscape all its own. The pace is consistently brisk, taking us through scenes and setting changes that have the feel of early cinema. The dialogue displays a wit grounded in Kafkaesque origins but modernized. Alienation and dislocation follow our protagonist, and I feel the slow dismantling of his sense of self even as I'm reveling in the sharp dialogue and hilarious hijinks. Stunning work.

This play starts with a bang and never lets up the entire way through, as Our Dude tries desperately to figure out what in the world is going on. I love the unique scene transitions, and I really want to see this staged so I can see a designer take an ambitious crack at it. This adaptation of Kafka's The Trial (which I haven't read, but that didn't make the play any less enjoyable) is fast, smart, and so, so funny. And also feels like a true nightmare at the same time. What a line to walk. Fantastic.

A hilarious and mind bending journey as we unspin the mystery of Our Dude's world! Fantastic!

My God, this is a designer's dream - what a delightfully bizarre, active, hilarious, chilling world. And all the chalk, the outlines, the fantastic imagery and ensemble work... I would love to see this play! Excellent experimental piece, brilliant fit for a college with large ensemble looking for an opportunity to flex abstract muscles. Would love to see this play done by several companies - a show who's every incarnation will be uniquely captivating!

Hilder’s characters often do things that not only surprise the audience, but surprise themselves. Such is the case with his take on Kafka’s The Trial, wherein Our Dude is caught up in a comic nightmare that is as much about what’s happening inside him as it is about what’s happening to him. There’s a trick to telling a story with this much give-no-fucks attitude and an equal measure of loving care, but Hilder pulls it off. It’s wildly funny, appropriately horrifying, and deliciously sad.
And funny.
And horrifying.
And sad.
Make it stop.