What Bugged Me About Metamorphosis

Here’s a treat for all you culture vultures: the Ten Days on the Island festival has put me in the mood for a theatrical whinge. Last week I went to see Metamorphosis at The Theatre Royal in Hobart. This English/Icelandic collaboration brings to the stage Franz Kafka’s surreal yet poignant story of Gregor, a hardworking young salesman who wakes up one morning to discover his body has changed into that of a monstrous bug. Unable to come to terms with this transformation, the family he once supported reacts with horror and disgust, and their superficial attempts at compassion are quickly replaced by irritation at the inconvenience his condition causes them, and neglect for his wellbeing.

I enjoyed Kafka’s original story, which is packed with symbolism and ideas as relevant today as when it was written in 1915. I even like to think that Kafka himself was having a subtle whinge about society’s selfishness and lack of compassion for those who are no longer of obvious benefit to us; hence I was looking forward to seeing this production. Most of the reviews and comments I heard, both before and after I’d seen it myself, were overwhelmingly positive. People have raved about it, with statements like “an 85 minute masterpiece”, “the sort of theatre we are glad to have seen before we die” and “it lives up to its hype” typical of the tone. This makes what I am about to say controversial, but a true whinger never shies away from controversy. Perhaps I am a philistine, but then again, perhaps I am the lone child in the crowd, pointing out to everyone else that the Emperor is, in fact, naked. Either way, I didn’t enjoy this stage adaptation of Metamorphosis all that much.

Much of the content of the novella centres around Gregor’s feelings following his transformation and his family’s subsequent reaction. There isn’t really enough action and dialogue in the story to sustain a full-length play, resulting in a contrived, drawn-out feeling to the stilted exchanges of the remaining characters. The performances of the supporting cast were average; I have frequently seen better acting in local amateur productions. In fact, the opening sequence, with the characters going about their morning routine in a musical montage, put me in mind of a high school Rock Eisteddfod. Yes, it has a soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, but it’s really just one song split into parts and played at intervals throughout the performance. It’s pretty mediocre by Cave and Ellis’ standards and must have taken them all of about half an hour to write.

I admit that it wasn’t all bad. The set design was so original and striking that it redeemed the play somewhat, and Gísli Örn Gardarsson’s performance as Gregor was impressively athletic. The story itself is dark, sometimes funny and ultimately moving, although the play doesn’t necessarily improve on the book in this regard. But when you get down to it, what really bothered me was this: if you had to sum it up in one line, you’d say that The Metamorphosis is a story about a man who changes into a bug. Yet, in this stage version, he doesn’t actually change into a bug! The only hints we get are the silhouette of a beetle projected onto the bedcovers just before Gregor emerges dressed in a suit and tie, and of course, his family’s reaction to him. Call me childish, but I was keen to see how they were going to depict this gigantic bug crawling around the house, and when they just didn’t, I was disappointed! I also think this would be a problem if you went to see the play without having read the original work, in that it might not be clear exactly what is going on and why his family are suddenly horrified by his appearance and unable to communicate with him.

My disappointment at the failure of this aspect of the story to translate to the stage was further highlighted by the high cost of admission. For the ticket price I probably could have bought 4 or 5 copies of the original novella! Even one copy would have lasted longer, made more sense and been more enjoyable than this ambitious but flawed stage adaptation. The main achievement of this play was the metamorphosis of my $65 into the material for a good whinge.