Metamorphosis – Frantic Assembly / Lyric Hammersmith, London

A somewhat disappointing adaptation of Kafka’s classic novella, Metamorphosis is visually impressive but muddled.

Metamorphosis

Yes, I was disappointed. I had high hopes for this production: it reached me via targeted social media advertising and looked great. As a former student of German and aspiring member of the intelligentsia of course I’ve read The Metamorphosis. From memory it’s one of the first things as I read as a teenager to knowingly challenge myself and expand my horizons. Perhaps it’s the weight of expectation I carried into this new adaptation by Lemn Sissay for Frantic Assembly which prevented me from enjoying it fully.

But is it? Franz Kafka‘s 1915 novella opens with the famous line “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” It’s the suddenness and mundanity of this phrase which yanks the audience into the world of the story. Samsa is transformed, and those around him must come to terms with it. It’s an indictment of the alienation of modern life and weight of familial expectation. I won’t spoil the end of the novella as I would encourage you to read it if you haven’t, but it’s as sudden and mundane as the opening and desolating as a result.

Sissay and Frantic Assembly’s version has many of the original elements. The same characters: Gregor (Felipe Pachecho), his mother (Louise Mai Newberry), father (Troy Glasgow), and sister Greta (Hannah Sinclair Robinson). We are minus one charwoman, and have an added Chief Clerk and lodger (both played by Joe Layton). Gregor is transformed into some kind of monstrous vermin, with much of the ambiguity of Kafka’s story. Before his transformation he has shouldered the weight of being his family’s breadwinner, slowly paying off the family debt. After his transformation, relationships disintegrate as does Samsa’s grip on personhood. Not the makings of a two-hour-plus-interval theatrical production, one might say.

Muddied Waters, Striking Visuals

So what we have are additional scenes and storylines. Namely a storyline which shifts the focus from Gregor and his societal and familial burdens, to something of a family curse. This in turns opens the door to a surprising moment between Greta and Gregor. There are soliloquies from the parents, and some dreadful violin playing from Greta (Gregor should get a refund on those lessons). The waters are well and truly muddied, and I felt it lost the power of the original story. It felt closer to what I know of Sissay’s writings. For my money, the best adaptation of The Metamorphosis is still Arthur Pita’s version danced by Edward Watson at the Royal Opera House.

Visually, however, there are many things to like about this production. The way in which Gregor is transformed, for a start. Pacheco does most of it through eerie, disjointed movement, with flickers of insect shadows cast on the walls behind him (this is presumably the work of Video Designer Ian William Galloway). It’s simple yet effective, and Pacheco’s acrobatics are impressive indeed. Jon Bausor’s set is also a wonderful thing, moving in unexpected ways to further the sense of unease. And the lighting design by Simisola Majekodunmi is very impressive in its range and creativity.

But ultimately it isn’t enough to overcome a longish running time with too much repetition and shouty acting. Kafka’s story interests me enough that I will likely be back to see further adaptations in future, but this one is not, for me, the benchmark.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 2.5/5

Metamorphosis on until 2 March 2024