 theatre review by laura peatman metamorphosis at the lyric theatre hammersmith four years on from its original run at the lyric gísli örn garðarsson and david farr s innovative and daring adaptation of franz kafka s tale has returned from an international tour to its longawaited homecoming moving intelligent gravitydefying and laughoutloud funny this piece may be short but it assails its audience with conflicting emotions and possesses an intriguing focus and powerful pulse from the curtainup the set alone renders this show captivating designer börkur jónsson has done a superb job of creating garðarsson and farr s vision on stage as gregor s room is rotated in comparison with the room below to allow the audience a flyonthewall view as the tilted angle becomes apparent the mindbending perspectives of the two rooms enhances the contrast between the normal and the bizarre between a world with which the family can cope and that which they cannot comprehend it soon becomes apparent that garðarsson is one of those almost sickeningly talented types as not only has he adapted and directed the work but he also utterly steals the show on stage his portrayal of gregor the man who wakes up one morning as a mysterious apparently buglike creature is sensitive and engrossing but also incredibly impressive in its gymnastic feats as garðarsson crawls around the sides of the set hanging from walls and leaping from table to wall to window his creeping uncomfortable movements retain a natural and poignant humanity the ease with which he appears to sit on his bed almost tricks us into forgetting that in fact this man is clinging to a vertical wall the realisation elicits gasps from the enthralled audience this is a perfect example of acting and staging working in perfect harmony the attention to detail is delightful and enables the figure of gregor to evoke simultaneous warmth and discomfort there is something so enchanting in the skill involved yet a constant prickle on the back of the neck betrays the darker threatening note which steadily increases throughout the decision to keep gregor looking and sounding human to the audience although his transformation is apparent in the reactions of others is pivotal to the adaptation s potency as his marginalisation and rejection are all the more disturbing and touching kafka s themes of persecution are powerfully present without the political parallels feeling forced of course this is not a oneman show and garðarsson is ably supported by an accomplished cast his bewildered parents provide many of the laughs as kelly hunter and ingvar e sigurðsson make the most of the comedic potential of their roles yet the humour never goes too far as to dilute the unnerving heart of the work and on the whole the two balance their respective mischievousness and pomposity with a credible struggle to come to terms with their new reality their performances are somewhat less nuanced than their costars but the coupling provides a solid basis for the bizarre occurrences and conflicting emotions which emerge as events descend into the more traditionally and farcically comic with the arrival of herr fischer the intelligent staging is once again apparent as fischer jonathan mcguinness struts and flirts in his white suit the pitiful figure of gregor above is subtly bathed in a sickly green light ensuring his agonising presence is not forgotten rather disappointing however is fischer s reaction at gregor s sudden appearance garðarsson s spectacular entrance into the bottom half of the set seems underserving of such a flat ending to the episode as fischer s exit which appears anticlimactic the aftermath unexplored driving the progress of the plot towards tragedy is greta played by the highly adaptable nina dögg filippusdóttir her progression from girlish innocence to controlling and decisive maturity is genuinely shocking and uncomfortable particularly evident as violent white light silhouettes her abuse of her brother although the changes in clothing were perhaps a little unsubtle the code of softcoloured skirts and cardigans for innocent greta and monochrome severe suit and boots for manipulative greta threatens to undermine the nuances of filippusdóttir s portrayal of what farr has described as the most fascinating character however her depiction of the role by and large manages to avoid the trap of such unsubtleties adequately presenting the simultaneous potential for love and for ruthlessness which lies in this character as farr points out in an interview the question of how good people can carry out seemingly terrible acts is a resonant one and something which pervades this work with little hope for an easy answer this production grips hold of its audience and refuses to let go the lack of an interval is in fact welcome as the tension is held throughout evident by the absolute focus of this audience populated as it was by several school groups the final tableau is reached deliberately almost tortuously and is incredibly moving in its duality of serenity and tragedy complimented by a unobtrusive yet effective soundtrack it is fitting that an impressive display of aerial silks forms the main feature of the show s climax i m sure it is garðarsson s physical performance that will be remembered by many for years to come however it is also the vision and the intensity of this production that will linger with audiences it seems certain to me that these 85 minutes of theatre will not stray easily from the mind metamorphosis is playing at the lyric theatre hammersmith until 16th feb issue 1 laura peatman 