CRITICAL ACCLAIM
Title: Who is the real Monster?
Show: Metamorphosis
Company Name: Vesturport and the Lyric Hammersmith
Theatre Royal
27 March to 2 April
Reviewer: Stephenie Cahalan
The ability to act well is a feat. The ability to act well upside down is truly great feat, and Gísli örn Gardarsson does both in his production of Metamorphosis. This collaboration by Theater Vesturport (Iceland) and the Lyric Hammersmith Theater (UK) has been acclaimed world-wide for this adaptation of Franz Kafka’s hundred-year-old novella.
Director örn Gardarsson plays Gregor Samsa, a hard working young man who wakes one day to find he has transformed into a some kind of insect-like thing. His family is variously horrified, repulsed and concerned but they join forces in pressing on with life, hoping to ignore the hideous thing that Gregor has become. Watching a split view in a two-storey set, the audience must suspend belief to let their perspective be turned upside down, just as the lives of the characters have. Gregor is transformed without so much as a costume change by the breathtaking ability of the actor to deliver most his performance from the roof of the set, not using wires and a harness but with his own circus skills, and the clever use of climbing holds as part of the set.
Subtle costuming helped carry the theme of change - the previously girlish sister emerges as the be-suited woman in control of the situation, Father, craving order, takes comfort in his bank minion’s uniform and Mother’s tragic loss of her son is reflected in her black dress.
The Samsa family and their prospective lodger, with their desire for social status and grasping for financial security, play their parts to the point of caricature. Meanwhile, the dehumanising of Gregor tracks the same course as the loss of refinement and sensitivity of the family. The production captures that shallowness of character that is both the bane and savior of the Samsa family. They are an unpleasant combination of Mrs Elizabeth Bennet and Piggy from Lord of the Flies. It begs the question - who is the real monster?
Nick Cave’s classic major/minor tinkle on the piano and Warren Ellis’ violin help to escalate the tension of a family aspiring to something beautiful in the shadow of a horrible secret.
The production is true to both companies’ commitment to making great traditional theatre in the digital age. However, the only disappointment was that there were times when the stage was just too dark. The sense of squalor and concealment was conveyed in the dimness, but would not be lost with just a little more illumination of the great performances.
Kafka’s repulsive creature in this play is a metaphor for a person who no longer fits into their social, familial or work environment. The theme of communication break down and lack of acceptance transcends time. Metamorphosis serves up a bite of Kafka’s exploration of isolation and alienation, with a dash of theatre of the absurd. It is funny, heart-breaking, and forces the audience to wonder - would I be any better?
Stephenie Cahalan is a Hobart-based writer and editor.
Show: Metamorphosis
Company Name: Vesturport and the Lyric Hammersmith
Theatre Royal
27 March to 2 April
Reviewer: Stephenie Cahalan
The ability to act well is a feat. The ability to act well upside down is truly great feat, and Gísli örn Gardarsson does both in his production of Metamorphosis. This collaboration by Theater Vesturport (Iceland) and the Lyric Hammersmith Theater (UK) has been acclaimed world-wide for this adaptation of Franz Kafka’s hundred-year-old novella.
Director örn Gardarsson plays Gregor Samsa, a hard working young man who wakes one day to find he has transformed into a some kind of insect-like thing. His family is variously horrified, repulsed and concerned but they join forces in pressing on with life, hoping to ignore the hideous thing that Gregor has become. Watching a split view in a two-storey set, the audience must suspend belief to let their perspective be turned upside down, just as the lives of the characters have. Gregor is transformed without so much as a costume change by the breathtaking ability of the actor to deliver most his performance from the roof of the set, not using wires and a harness but with his own circus skills, and the clever use of climbing holds as part of the set.
Subtle costuming helped carry the theme of change - the previously girlish sister emerges as the be-suited woman in control of the situation, Father, craving order, takes comfort in his bank minion’s uniform and Mother’s tragic loss of her son is reflected in her black dress.
The Samsa family and their prospective lodger, with their desire for social status and grasping for financial security, play their parts to the point of caricature. Meanwhile, the dehumanising of Gregor tracks the same course as the loss of refinement and sensitivity of the family. The production captures that shallowness of character that is both the bane and savior of the Samsa family. They are an unpleasant combination of Mrs Elizabeth Bennet and Piggy from Lord of the Flies. It begs the question - who is the real monster?
Nick Cave’s classic major/minor tinkle on the piano and Warren Ellis’ violin help to escalate the tension of a family aspiring to something beautiful in the shadow of a horrible secret.
The production is true to both companies’ commitment to making great traditional theatre in the digital age. However, the only disappointment was that there were times when the stage was just too dark. The sense of squalor and concealment was conveyed in the dimness, but would not be lost with just a little more illumination of the great performances.
Kafka’s repulsive creature in this play is a metaphor for a person who no longer fits into their social, familial or work environment. The theme of communication break down and lack of acceptance transcends time. Metamorphosis serves up a bite of Kafka’s exploration of isolation and alienation, with a dash of theatre of the absurd. It is funny, heart-breaking, and forces the audience to wonder - would I be any better?
Stephenie Cahalan is a Hobart-based writer and editor.
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