The title of this musical promises a lot of things: Franz Kafka, Metamorphosis,
Musical numbers, even puppets! Many, like me, may be afraid of the bookish
overtone ‘Kafka’ evokes. Famously celebrated for its scholarly importance and often
referenced for its complexity and surrealism. Usually, this would prompt me to ask for
a simplified synopsis from my partner, who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of
classic literature. Yet the show, with its extremely talented cast, take you on a joyride
through both Kafka’s own personal story as well as the book. The book’s main
character, Gregor Samsa, undergoes an unfortunate metamorphosis into the
mysterious Ungezeifer – turns out that there is much disagreement on the English
translation of this, but I will stick with “monstrous insect”. An incredibly strong cast of
four are steered by the brilliant Blake Du Bois, whose timid and nervous portrayal of
Franz Kafka and Gregor Samsa is done with a joyful glint in his eye and amazing
physicality. The rest of the cast play the roles of the supporting Samsa family and are
almost vaudevillian in their performance, a perfect complement to Du Bois.
The biggest surprise was the importance of the puppets. Far from a gimmick, the
“puppets” aspect of the performance helps to humanise the story and provides a
childlike simplicity to a much studied and difficult topic that has been the subject of
centuries of academic examination. A perfect example: The age-old question of
‘what does Kafka-esque actually mean’… the show’s answer is “what the f*ck is
this?”.
Bask in the humour and the light-hearted, joyous and beautifully simple interpretation
of Metamorphosis. Having seen this musical, puppets and all, I’m now a firm Kafka
fan I’ve even picked up a copy of the book. It’s fun, it’s smart, it’s surreal, it’s Kafka…
a musical…with puppets. My ideal show.
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