by Betty Mohr
"You'll never be able to kill a bug again after seeing 'Metamorphosis', the theatrical adaptation of Frank Kafka's 1915 story, which is being given a poignant presentation by the GreyZelda Theatre Group at Stage Left Theatre.
The tale, about a man who is transformed into an insect, has been given such a probing and powerful presentation by the fledgling GreyZelda troupe that it's hard not to have anything but enormous sympathy for the creature. His frightening predicament evokes strong human emotions of pity and sympathy.
The play tells the classic Kafka story about Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who wakes up one morning to discover that he has changed into an insect. Not only is Gregor shocked and dismayed by his transformation, but so are his parents and sister.
Gregor who used to be the family breadwinner, cannot work to support the family anymore and soon becomes a drain on everyone. After all, an insect takes special care and feeding and doesn't contribute in any physical or emotional way to the family's well-being. Soon they all come to resent Gregor and can't wait to be rid of him.
On the surface, what happens to Gregor seems like an absurd nightmare, but it's also a meaningful metaphor that represents the desire of people to connect with one another and the suffering that results from being rejected. It also mirrors Kafka's view that an individual has little chance of surviving against a dehumanizing majority.
Set within a small dark enclosure, with a spider-like web strung across the stage, the production spools out with an almost horror-like poetic grace. The opening scene, in which the entire theater troupe, dressed in skin-tight black, skitters and weaves and arches across the stage like a bunch of real insects, sets the tone for the surreal effects of the rest of the play.
In addition, the show's eerie musical accompaniment resounds like buzzing night insects to heighten one's sense of being in a nightmarish world.
The play's impact is further intensified by the fine performances of Anna Agniel and Kevin Kingston as Gregor's parents, Meredith Lyons as his sister and Lisa Wilson as a visitor.
It all strikes an especially intense emotional chord, though, because of Chris Riter's compelling performance as the pitiful creature. Riter delivers such a convincing portrait of a man in the grip of some unknown force of destiny that we instinctively react to his wretched body and face etched in hopeless pain. Watching him clutching at the web, or lying on his back unable to get up, or looking up at his family and seeing disgust on their faces, you can feel his suffering."
Review from chicagocritic.com
by Tom Williams
"'The Metamorphosis' will not 'bug' you!
From the opening scene we see five actors, dressed in tight-fitting black clothing, physically moving to exotic music laced with sounds of insects chirping. The gymnastic stretching, sliding and flexing of arms, legs, and torsos vividly reenacts the emergence of an insect from its cocoon. The five minute sensual session carried the bugs from birth through the mating ritual. The tight, disciplined choreography fully engaged me and set the tone for an adventurous evening. Experimental theatre either works or it doesn't - this show works!
This original, collaborative production, involving music, movement, and text, intertwined into a series of vignettes telling Franz Kafka's classic nightmare about Gregor Samsa - a devoted family man who went to sleep a traveling salesman and awoke an insect.
First published in 1915, The Metamorphosis is the story of Gregor Samsa, a young worker who lives with and financially supports his parents and younger sister. One morning he wakes to discover that during the night he has been transformed into a 'monstrous vermin' or insect. At first he is preoccupied with practical, everyday concerns: How to get out of bed and walk with his numerous legs? Can he still make it to the office on time?
Soon his abilities, tastes, and interests begin to change. No one can understand his insect-speech. He likes to scurry under furniture and eat rotten scraps of food. Gregor's family, horrified that Gregor has become an enormous insect, keep him in his bedroom and refuse to interact with him. Only his sister Grete demonstrates concern by bringing his food each day.
When Grego breaks out one day and scurries into the living room, his father throws apples to chase him away. One becomes embedded in his back.
Eventually the apple become rotten and infected; Gregor wastes away. When he dies the cleaning woman throws his remains intot he garbage.
Gregor's predicament is much like that of any person suffering from severe, particularly disfiguring, chronic illness or disability.
Some of Gregor's changes are generated from within; some are conditioned by the world's reaction to his metamorphosis. Other metamorphoses also occur in the story. Gregor's family sees his predicament as an affront to them (after all, they expect Gregor to support the family). They withdraw from hi, try to contain the damage, but in the process begin to change their own life stories as well - Gregor's father, who has been disabled, mobilizes and goes back to work; he changes from being an 'old man' to a bank official 'holding himself very erect.' Gregor's sister also gets a job and seems on the verge of a new life.
'The Metamorphosis' can also be seen as a reaction again a bourgeois society and its demands. In a psychoanalytic interpretation, 'The Metamorphosis' prevents the imminent rebellion of the son against the father. Gregor had become strong as a result of his father's failure. After the catastrophe, the same sequence takes place in reverse: son becomes weak, and father kills him.
Chris Riter, as Gregor, has the marvelous bug-like movements dwon getting us to see him as an insect. If he didn't mumble his dialogue, his performance would have been excellent. I liked the work of Anna Agniel as the mother and Lisa Wilson.
This provocative and riveting theatrical experience swallows us as it stimulates the imagination and vividly tells the Samsas' family story laced with references to mental illness, suffering, family relationships, and, of course, metamorphosis - 'a pronounced change in appearance.'
Franz Kafka's writing came alive at Stage Left Theatre with GreyZelda Theatre's fascinating production. For something different - see 'The Metamorphosis' - you'll never squash a bug again after seeing this show.