Come to our staged reading of Thomas Bernhard’s Immanuel Kant!

Immanuel Kant - by Thomas Bernhard

In honor of the 300th anniversary of Kant’s birth, the Goethe-Institut Washington D.C. and Johns Hopkins University, in cooperation with the North American Kant Society, are proud to present the North American premiere of Immanuel Kant, an early-career masterwork by Thomas Bernhard, the great provocateur of post-World War II German theater and literature.

Often compared to Franz Kafka, Eugen Ionesco and Samuel Beckett, Bernhard treats a towering giant of European thought with his trademark blend of comic irreverence and acid-tongued observation.

Drew Lichtenberg, dramaturg and associate director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C., will stage a reading of the absurdist play with professional actors.

Friday, March 8, 2024, at 7:30 pm in the John Astin Theatre on Hopkins’ Homewood Campus in Baltimore, followed by a panel discussion.

Free attendance: Registration closed, Standby line only

The John Astin Theatre is located in the historic Merrick Barn, at the center of Homewood Campus. Please be aware that due to construction, Merrick Barn cannot be accessed directly from the Beach or North Charles Street. You may get to the Barn from the south: walk up from the Baltimore Museum of Art. Or you may get there from the west, from Wyman Quad, by walking through the Krieger Hall breezeway. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Campus map

Sunday, March 10, 2024, at 5:00 pm at the Goethe-Institut in Washington D.C., followed by a panel discussion.

Free attendance: register here

Goethe Institut
John Hopkins University
North American Kant Society

Credit:

Immanuel Kant by Thomas Bernhard
Translated by Douglas Robertson

Director: Drew Lichtenberg
Casting consultant: Danica Rodriguez

Cast:
Todd Scofield
Tonya Beckman Ross
David Bishins
Michael Glenn
Emily Townley
Teresa Spencer
Clint Blakely
Brett Earnest
Laura Artesi

Thomas Bernhard, “Immanuel Kant” © Suhrkamp Verlag AG, Berlin. English translation published by Seagull Books.
Graphic Design © Studio Werken 

This staged reading is produced by Johns Hopkins University and the Goethe-Institut Washington DC.
The reading and the “Kant and the World Today” conference are part of the North American Kant Society’s Tercentennial celebrations.

Thank you to our sponsors for their generous donations and support:  

Department of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins University
North American Kant Society
Princeton University
Department of Theater Arts and Studies, Johns Hopkins University
Alexander Grass Humanities Institute, Johns Hopkins University
Max Kade Center for Modern German Thought, Johns Hopkins University
Department of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University
Department of Philosophy, The George Washington University
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Towson University