“Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from unsettling dreams, to find himself changed into a monstrous vermin…”
Kafka’s terrifying but bizarrely comic story bursts from the page onto stage in this theatrically daring and moving production. In a tale of transformation, alienation and escapism, the ordinary life of the Samsa family is turned upside down when their son is inexplicably transformed into a giant insect. As the family’s pathos shifts to revulsion and resentment,
Kafka’s dreamlike vision morphs into an electrifying reality. This explosive production combines jaw-dropping aerial physicality performed across a striking split-level set to an original, haunting soundtrack by Nick Cave and Bad Seed, Warren Ellis.
Adapted by David Farr, former Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith and director/ actor/ gymnast Gísli Örn Gardarsson of Iceland’s acclaimed Vesturport Theatre, Metamorphosis arrives following two sell-out seasons on London’s West End and recent seasons at the Dublin and Hong Kong International Arts Festivals.
1 hour 30 mins no interval
Performed in English
Recommended for everyone aged 12 and over
Reviews
“a parable for our times... blessed with a superbly atmospheric score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis” The Daily Telegraph (UK)
“*****” The Guardian
“An 85 minute masterpiece” Daily Mail
“Farr and Gardarsson have found a theatrical language that is as strange and beautiful as Kafka’s. ****” Metro
“Gardarsson and Farr create a fantasy that is comic, nightmarish and, ultimately, tragic. ****” FT
"On a stunning set by Borkur Jonsson... this terrific company performs in a physical, gestural style that is extraordinarily expressive. Bjorn Thors is outstanding as Gregor, tortured by his new shape, crawling, tumbling and falling around the walls and ceilings of his upstairs room.... David Farr and Gisli Orn Gardarsson's adaptation is intense, disturbing and full of political resonance." The Australian
"...very possibly, the finest, highest expression of theatre to which I've yet borne witness" Australian Stage. Read full review here.
