REVIEW: Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis
Burton Taylor, 30 May - 3 June
When Gregor Samsa awakens one morning from uneasy dreams to find himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect, you do not expect him to be inside a climbing frame and surrounded by a marionette-like cast of Converse-clad figures.
However, although the exaggerated physicality of Kane Moore’s production of Metamorphosis may at first come as a surprise, it works remarkably well; despite when the elements of physical theatre are so overstated as to verge on the ridiculous, detracting from the tension that should have been maintained. The play is an adaptation of Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka’s short story about Gregor Samsa, an insignificant travelling salesman who works impossibly long, hard hours to support his family.
One night, Samsa finds himself turned into an insect, and his subsequent struggle to deal first with the absurd question of how to get to work in the morning and then, later, with his family’s withdrawal and disgust, forms the basis of the plot. The set is stark, with three stools for Gregor’s family members to sit on and a metal frame imprisoning Gregor himself.
This bleakness leaves plenty of scope for the movements of the actors themselves to create striking tableaux, and the whole cast rises well to the challenge. Anna Tierney’s expressive face makes her portrayal of Gregor’s faltering, anxious mother particularly poignant. Patrick Netherton’s insectlike writhing makes him a disturbing and very convincing Gregor. Take a break from your schedules before you too find antennae sprouting from your foreheads.
25th May 2006