I was really looking forward to seeing this production for the entire month, which may have been a mistake because it resulted in developing specific expectations. I love Kafka's works, and I thought I would feel the same way watching this production as I had when I read it: disturbed, frightened, confused at times. My first reaction, because I didn't feel that the production lived up to these expectations, was to dislike it. But after having ruminated on why I disliked it, it seems like I just would have staged it in a different way given the opportunity. This interpretation of Metamorphosis was creative, valid, and certainly interesting. But it was not disturbing.
In this version of Metamorphosis, the Samsa family was the main focal point. It made sense that Gregor was somewhat de-emphasized, because the purpose of his character is to remain isolated from the others. But the extent to which he was de-emphasized was extreme. The family only interacted with him a few times, and it seems like there was very little motivation for why his transformation occurred or why he wouldn't fit in with society. Having the family as the focal point changed many of the themes of the production. They were exemplified as greedy and comical, and very dysfunctional. The downfall of the family in this production was their own doing, rather than intertwined with Gregor's transformation, as it was in the original work.
I liked the decision to make Gregor's form amorphous and unlike a human (or an insect, for that matter). Even though I wasn't as disturbed by the Gregor scenes as I had hoped to be, the amorphous suit was visually interesting. I thought it could have been made even more interesting if the actor inside the suit had prosthetics attached to him, such as spines or insect legs, which would make the fabric protrude in strange ways. Sometimes I could see the movements of the actor underneath and it ruined the illusion for me, so adding some confusing shapes would be one way to prevent that. I also wish the wall in Gregor's room had been used more often. Seeing an amorphous Gregor clambering up and down the wall, for example, could be a striking scene. But maybe I was just spoiled by seeing Mitya's Love, and climbing in an amorphous black suit can't be easy.
Even though Gregor's love interest was not part of the original, it turns out that this character was probably based on a woman from Kafka's own life. In the play, she was the driving force between Gregor finding his humanity--or at least, that's how I interpreted it, when he crawled out of the black casing. The family acted as if he had died or disappeared when they found the discarded skin, so perhaps one interpretation of the ending could be that he died and the lover scene was figurative or transcendental. Another interpretation could be that he lived, and left the family with only the negative memory of his transformation.
Overall, this production of Metamorphosis changed the original text quite a bit, choosing to focus on the antics of the Samsa family and the side-plot of the woman who loved Gregor, rather than Gregor's transformation itself. Although some parts of this interpretation were not to my taste, I think there were many moments that effectively showed the family in the way they were meant to be portrayed.
In this version of Metamorphosis, the Samsa family was the main focal point. It made sense that Gregor was somewhat de-emphasized, because the purpose of his character is to remain isolated from the others. But the extent to which he was de-emphasized was extreme. The family only interacted with him a few times, and it seems like there was very little motivation for why his transformation occurred or why he wouldn't fit in with society. Having the family as the focal point changed many of the themes of the production. They were exemplified as greedy and comical, and very dysfunctional. The downfall of the family in this production was their own doing, rather than intertwined with Gregor's transformation, as it was in the original work.
I liked the decision to make Gregor's form amorphous and unlike a human (or an insect, for that matter). Even though I wasn't as disturbed by the Gregor scenes as I had hoped to be, the amorphous suit was visually interesting. I thought it could have been made even more interesting if the actor inside the suit had prosthetics attached to him, such as spines or insect legs, which would make the fabric protrude in strange ways. Sometimes I could see the movements of the actor underneath and it ruined the illusion for me, so adding some confusing shapes would be one way to prevent that. I also wish the wall in Gregor's room had been used more often. Seeing an amorphous Gregor clambering up and down the wall, for example, could be a striking scene. But maybe I was just spoiled by seeing Mitya's Love, and climbing in an amorphous black suit can't be easy.
Even though Gregor's love interest was not part of the original, it turns out that this character was probably based on a woman from Kafka's own life. In the play, she was the driving force between Gregor finding his humanity--or at least, that's how I interpreted it, when he crawled out of the black casing. The family acted as if he had died or disappeared when they found the discarded skin, so perhaps one interpretation of the ending could be that he died and the lover scene was figurative or transcendental. Another interpretation could be that he lived, and left the family with only the negative memory of his transformation.
Overall, this production of Metamorphosis changed the original text quite a bit, choosing to focus on the antics of the Samsa family and the side-plot of the woman who loved Gregor, rather than Gregor's transformation itself. Although some parts of this interpretation were not to my taste, I think there were many moments that effectively showed the family in the way they were meant to be portrayed.
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