The Metamorphosis review – Kafka classic becomes metaphor for pandemic

Tron, Glasgow
Kafka’s story is given a chilling update that chimes with our times, referencing the migrant crisis, the gig economy and fear of the unknown

Of all the shows to have been affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, it is ironic that Vanishing Point’s Kafka adaptation should have been one of the first. A co-production with Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione, it was due to have had its premiere at the 2020 VIE festival in Cesena at the end of February. The lockdown in Italy put paid to that; the entire festival was pulled.

Yet look at Matthew Lenton’s production, now making its debut on home turf, and it’s hard not to see a metaphor for the pandemic. Sam Stopford’s Gregor Samsa goes to bed as a takeaway cycle courier, having worked for three years without a day off for a zero-hours outfit wittily known as Grub’s Up. He is so burnt-out, he can scarcely bring himself to talk to the very family he is earning a living for, not even sister Grete whom he hopes to fund through music school.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aQiN9U