Taking the carapace

Gregor Samsa is late for work one day. Everyone is extremely concerned, including his boss who pays him a personal visit for a personal reprimand. Instead of opening the bedroom door to find Gregor, his family and boss are surprised and subsequently disgusted by the huge beetle-like creature which has replaced him.

Books with obvious metaphors are sometimes some of the most difficult to interpret, a personal opinion extending to Kafka’s Metamorphosis. It is always interesting to see how such works are translated to the stage and it is great when they contribute to personal understanding of the literary classics. With this in mind I was excited to see a limited run of the ‘Smash Hit’ production at the Lyric Theatre. The obvious question that anticipated any viewer was how the Ungeziefer is depicted, and it was probably inevitable that a man in a huge bug costume clambering around on stage would have been a bit too tacky. Opting for a salesman clambering around on stage slightly detracted from the mystery of what he has transformed into, contributing to the interpretation that he has not physically transformed at all.

The music (Nick Cave and Warren Ellis) was also a definite highlight, and was more noticeable compared to many other plays. However, this could have merely been a positive compared to the quality of direction (David Orr and Gisli Orn Garoarsson) and acting which was embarrassingly pantomime-esque.

Of course, acting on a stage requires large gestures, exaggerated speech, and audience-directed action. In this production however the cast’s performance was so intense that it made the play difficult to believe or meaningfully identify with in any kind of realistic manner.

Perhaps this was an attempt to capture the strangeness of Kafka’s world. There was no direct mention of any bug or transformation, this could have been a way of reminding the audience of the surreal event by distancing the play from reality. This definitely seemed the case as the play opened with unnecessary and annoying dramatic poses during the Samsa family’s breakfast at the table.

However, as the play progressed, such a defence for over-exaggerated acting seemed too far-fetched, and if this effect was a purposeful by-product, it did not manage to attain its intended effect. It was not enjoyable.

For certain scenes though, such as Grete’s freakout and Gregor’s death, the comic relief interspersed throughout the darker and more distressing events, was entertaining.

Overall Metamorphosis was well produced. The open plan family house was a clever way of allowing us to see Gregor’s behaviour as his family grew increasingly ashamed and separated from him. The relatively small stage prevented the overuse of a single setting becoming boring and negated the need for messy changes between scene.

Metamorphosis is on at the Lyric Hammersmith. Tickets from £12.50. Until 9th February.