Lemn Sissay, Lyric Hammersmith, Frantic Assembly, Kafka: this play had excellent credentials and there was every reason to hope for a profound and interesting show.
Unfortunately, directorial choices had the cast hollering and the audience left feeling battered by the one-note performances. Any nuance of dark and light was gone with moments which might have been upsetting, stirring or tragic all succumbing to the same bellowing treatment. Louise Mai Newberry was left to play Gregor’s mother as a giggling, simpering housewife whereas father Troy Glasgow roared and ranted..
Repetition of choreography and phrases at first seemed clever, with an almost métro, boulot, dodo like rotating routine suggesting Gregor’s increasing disaffection with his workplace. However, overuse of this strategy became frustrating as the play moved on.
Sissay has added his own interpretations to the story, some of which will infuriate Kafka purists with, for example, incest being made explicit rather than one of many (mostly not chosen) theories.
There are some clever projections which open the play and give a sense of period. The lighting design (Simisola Majekodunmi) and music (composed by Stefan Janik) both add to a deep sense of unease. It was impossible not to admire the amazing physicality from Felipe Pacheco who clambers the walls in true insect-like fashion but this was otherwise an unpleasant afternoon. My neighbour left in the interval and I was tempted to follow her.
Have others seen Metamorphosis? What were your thoughts?
Red Bus Londinium Life 
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