Kafka’s Doll – Dublin Fringe Festival – Review
Kafka’s Doll – Theatre Lovett – Peacock Stage at the Abbey Theatre

Dates: 4 – 12 September 2026
Previews: 4 September

A young girl called Clara has lost her doll in a park. As she searches for it, she encounters Franz Kafka, who consoles her by telling her that the doll has not simply disappeared — it has gone on an adventure. To reassure Clara, Kafka begins writing her a series of letters, each one recounting the extraordinary exploits of the doll.

The story forms part of Kafka’s enduring mythology, although the episode is generally considered of doubtful authenticity. Whether Kafka actually encountered a lost little girl and invented a series of letters from her missing doll is almost beside the point. What matters is the irresistible idea at its centre: that a moment of childhood loss can be transformed into an adventure through the power of storytelling. Writer Frances Kay takes this intriguing legend as the starting point for a new work that explores imagination, loss and the stories we create to make sense of an uncertain world.

The production offers three performers an opportunity to explore this story through an eclectic mix of projected imagery, puppetry, music, song, dance, and physical performance. Theatre Lovett is well known for embracing a broad theatrical vocabulary, and that approach is very much in evidence here. Rather than relying on a conventional narrative, the production continually shifts between different forms, creating a playful and visually inventive world.

The three cast members are already in the auditorium as the audience takes their seats, breaking down the traditional barrier between performer and spectator. They greet audience members and introduce them to some of the production’s curious objects, including tiny puppets and even the head of a monkey! It is an engaging way to begin, establishing the sense that we are about to enter a world where almost anything is possible.

Prop maker Susan Crawford has clearly been given an unusually imaginative brief. The production makes particularly effective use of the idea of a ‘story within a story’, allowing the stage to become a miniature universe of its own. Carefully constructed dioramas, tiny puppets and projected images combine to create a constantly changing landscape. There is something wonderfully tactile about these miniature worlds.

Cormac Mohally brings a considerable physical energy to the production. A former member of the circus/ comedy-acrobat duo Lords of Strut, he makes excellent use of his background in physical comedy, clowning and acrobatics. His physical dexterity adds an exuberant quality to the performance, while his comic timing helps maintain the production’s playful tone. Charlotte Cleary and Louis Lovett take on a variety of characters and contribute vocally to the production, with song becoming another important part of the storytelling.

At its heart, this is a story about what happens when imagination is allowed to take over from reality. Kafka’s supposed letters provide a particularly fertile starting point.

Aimed at audiences aged eight and upwards, the production has plenty to entertain younger spectators, but there is also enough here to engage those who are young at heart. Its mixture of puppetry, physical comedy, music and visual storytelling should appeal particularly to children with vivid imaginations, while the Kafka connection gives the piece an additional layer for adults. Theatre Lovett once again demonstrates its ability to take an unusual idea and surround it with invention, playfulness and theatrical curiosity.

Credits
Performer: Charlotte Cleary
Performer: Louis Lovett
Performer: Cormac Mohally

Writer: Frances Kay
Director: Muireann Ahern
Director: Louis Lovett
Composer and Lyricist: Nico Brown
Set Designer: Jamie Vartan
Prop Maker: Susan Crawford
Lighting Design : Sarah Jane Shiels
AV Design: Cormac O’Connor
Sound Design: Carl Kennedy
Doll Designer and Maker: Alisa Iakimanskaia
Set Design Assistant : Florentina Burcea
Recording Musicians: The Far Flung Trio
Violin: Katherine Hunka
Accordion: Dermot Dunne
Double Bass: Malachy Robinson
Music Programming and Mixing : Carl Kennedy
Creative Producer: Muireann Ahern
Producer: Aoife O’Beirne
Production Manager: Michael-Anthony Greene
Stage Manager : Emely Tenhagen
Chief LX: Síofra Nic Liam
Chief LX: Jake Lawrence
Set Construction: Andrew Clancy
Hair and Make-up: Ciara Little
Photgrapher: Marcin Lewandowski
Image credit : Alisa Iakimanskaia