The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis is the story of an ordinary man who wakes up one morning to find he has been transformed into a giant insect. Soon he begins to realise he’s got bigger problems than being late for work. His family, shocked by his bizarre condition, barricade him into his room, unwilling to accept that somewhere inside this behemoth of a bug is their son.

Franz Kafka’s hugely influential, tragicomic, iconic novella is brought vividly to life in this international co-production between Vanishing Point, Tron Theatre and Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione (Italy), adapted and directed by Vanishing Point's Matthew Lenton and designed by Kenneth MacLeod (The Dark Carnival).

The Metamorphosis opened at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre in March 2020, but was closed down after 4 performances due to lockdown.

Press

“★★★★★ In a time of crisis, Vanishing Point Theatre’s 20th anniversary production offers the pure, poignant joy – probably soon to be denied us, for a while – of gathering together to experience a show that says almost all we could wish to say about this troubled moment in human history.”

— The Scotsman

“★★★★★ Under the guidance of director Matthew Lenton, the company’s penchant for dark visual poetry is at a premium in this new theatricalisation of Kafka’s tale... Lenton and his team have turned Gregor’s existential drudgery into an exquisitely realised portrait of what happens when you push someone into a corner enough to dehumanise them from a system they can no longer bear.”

— The Herald

“★★★★★ As a portrait of contemporary othering due to gender, nationality and language, it’s a powerful piece. Amid the coronavirus outbreak that halted the show’s Italian premiere, the tangible sense of body horror and repulsion is almost impossible to bear.”

— The Stage

“★★★★★ Vanishing Point tends to develop much of its acclaimed, highly distinctive work in rehearsal, often creating radical versions of plays such as Maurice Maeterlinck’s Interiors and John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. However, the company’s stunning take on Franz Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis is remarkably faithful to its source, and it marks a culmination of Lenton’s concerns and signature style.”

— The Times

“★★★★★ Based, ingeniously, but tremendously faithfully, upon Franz Kafka’s outstanding novella, the piece is as perfect a fit between a theatre director’s aesthetic and a writer’s narrative as I have witnessed in quite some time. Matthew Lenton, artistic director of Vanishing Point, has a very distinctive, poetic visual style.”

— The Herald On Sunday

Credits

Vanishing Point / Tron Theatre /
Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione co-production
The Metamorphosis
After the story by Franz Kafka

Adapted and Directed by Matthew Lenton
Text by Matthew Lenton and Joanna Bowman, Elicia Daly, Nico Guerzoni, Paul Thomas Hickey, Robert Jack, Alana Jackson, Sam Stopford, Hannah Visocchi
Set & Costume Design by Kenneth MacLeod
Lighting Design by Simon Wilkinson
Sound Design and Music Composition by Mark Melville
Associate Director Joanna Bowman

Performed in 2022 by: Nicholas Alban, Elicia Daly, Nico Guerzoni, Paul Thomas Hickey, Alana Jackson, Sam Stopford, Hannah Visocchi

Performed in 2020 by: Elicia Daly, Nico Guerzoni, Paul Thomas Hickey, Robert Jack, Alana Jackson, Sam Stopford, Hannah Visocchi

Production credits 2022:
Production Manager Fiona Fraser
Company Stage Manager Sophie Wright
Deputy Stage Manager Gillian Richards
Stage Supervisor Kyle Jessiman
Lighting Supervisor & Relights Joshua Brown
Lighting Associate Andrew Gannon
Sound Engineer Amir Sherhan
Sound Assistants Neal Clark & Neil Dewar
Video Technician Andy Reid
Assistant Stage Manager Alexandra McKenna*
Costume Supervisor Sophie Ferguson
BSL Interpreter Amy Cheskin
Audio Description Christopher McKiddie
Surtitle Operators Gordon Grant & Alison Pendlowski
Set Construction by Pretty Scenic
Engagement Manager Abigail McMillan

*Placement

Production credits 2020:
Production Manager Fiona Fraser
Company Stage Manager Lee Davis
Deputy Stage Manager Gillian Richards
Technical Stage Manager Dave Stabback
Lighting Supervisor & Relights Andrew Gannon
Sound Engineer Will Moore
Costume Supervisor Sophie Ferguson
Touring Costume Supervisor Nicky McKean
Costume Assistant Placement Becky Hollis
Supported Artist Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir
BSL Interpreters Amy Cheskin / Katy Smillie
Audio Description Christopher McKiddie
Captioner Glenda Carson
Surtitle Operators Gordon Grant / Flora Munro
Set Construction by Pretty Scenic

Performance history

16 - 26 March, 2022
Tron Theatre, Glasgow

30 March - 2 April, 2022
Dundee Rep Theatre, Dundee

7 - 8 April, 2022
Eden Court, Inverness

13 - 16 April, 2022
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

14 - 17 October, 2021
Teatro Bonci, Cesena
Presented by Emilia Romagno Teatro

18 - 20 October, 2021
Teatro Ermanno Fabbri, Vignola
Presented by Emilia Romagna Teatro

10 - 21 March, 2020
Tron Theatre, Glasgow, UK
CANCELLED from 17/03/2020