Frantic Assembly’s productions are always worth seeing and this is no exception. As a Theatre group they take a play or novel and totally make it their own, using a style and techniques for which they are famous.
By Angie Millard
Metamorphosis has been adapted by Lemn Sissay OBE from the famous Kafka novel and uses this brand of physicality to represent the expressionist horror and revulsion of the central metaphor.
The main theme of the play is that the chief protagonist, Gregor Samsa, played with superb athleticism by Felipe Pacheco, is driven to psychosis by the relentless pressure of his job as a salesman. Frantic Assembly uses dance choreography and acrobatic movement to achieve this without the use of graphic detail and thus begins their departure from the novel which was written 100 years ago. Pacheco uses the set and furniture inventively as he turns gradually into a cockroach, twisting his body into asymmetrical shapes, hanging from the ceiling and presenting us with an extraordinary vision.
The set is an impressive creation designed by Jon Bauson and provides a perfect space for the story to unfold. His room changes shape and dimension while Simisola Majekodunmi uses lighting to create a nightmare place. Shadows of twitching insects and slogans of materialism emerge on the walls and are jump cut with blackouts in which Pachea changes position or family members appear through concealed entrances. He is trapped in this nightmare world backgrounded by Stefan Janik’s score of distorted guitars and other worldly piano music which creates a tense atmospheric mood.
The family members, his domineering father played by Troy Glasgow, and his mother, Louise May Newberry, contribute to his breakdown through the bullying by his father and the pointless humour of his Dickensian mother. Only his sister, Grete, Hannah Sinclair, tries to stay with him but eventually even she fails. They endlessly mouth platitudes and aphorisms and live in the past but it is clear that Gregor cannot fit into their present.
The Director, Scott Graham, has turned the Kafka novella into powerful, visual theatre and by focusing on the internal state of Gregor’s mind brought it horrifically up to date. My only criticism is that the use of long monologues and images of horror could not sustain dramatic tension throughout. Originally, the play was based on a novella and perhaps the production’s length should reflect this.
Frantic Assembly’s Metamorphosis is playing at York Theatre Royal from 9 to 14 October 2023