Being a great fan of performing arts, I usually watch at least a show or two in Hong Kong Arts Festival. Metaphosis is the first one I watched this year. This is a Vesturport and Lyric Hammersmith production, basing on Franz Kafka's story.
Metaphosis is a truly absurd and disturbing melancholy. It is about a family in which the son is the only breadwinner. One day, the son is transformed into a cockroach. At first, the family try to live with it, but little by little they lose their tolerance and lock him up and mistreat him. It is like a metaphor for what people suddenly feel when someone next to them has changed and is no longer a member of the group.
Throughout the whole drama, there is only a 2-storey house as the set, with the upper level as the bedroom of the son and the ground level as the living and dining room of the family. Though there is not much change of scenes, the aerial aerobatics and the ingenious use of lighting make it really enjoyable. Through bold and strong body languages, the audience is taken back to the most fundamental form of drama to meditate upon the message that Kafka wants to bring us -- about human nature and relationships between people and reactions to extreme circumstances.
I am especially touched by the last scene when the son slowly unwinds himself from a long roll of white cloth down to the living room and finally dies in the dark, while his parents swing the daughter in joy and relief upstairs, accompanied by falling confetti. The contrasting atmosphere further enhances the tragic ending.
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