By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
Franz Kafka's classic, ``Metamorphosis'' presented by Icelandic Vesturport Theatre and British Lyric Hammersmith will go on stage in Seoul this month.
The theatrical adaptation will take audiences into Kafka's world of eerie and fantastic juxtapositions, mixed with realism.
The performance will be directed by Icelandic director Gisli Orn Gardarsson of the Vesturport Theatre, which has astonished European audiences with its acrobatic versions of ``Romeo and Juliet'' and ``Woyzeck,'' and British art director David Farr who worked at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London, renowned for its physical theater and visual storytelling.
The two young artists began collaborating for this work in October 2006 in London.
``Metamorphosis'' received rave reviews from critics and audiences for its successful portrayals of political and social metaphors and its treatment of the dry tones of the original text.
Taking highly physical elements, this riveting piece portrays the story of a salesman who awakens from his anxious dreams one morning to find himself transformed into a monstrous insect.
Gardarsson plays Gregor, the main character, who will experience the transformation without any special makeup and costumes being used.
Gardarsson performs in a normal suit, portraying his physical transformation. He hangs from the ceiling and leaps from one precarious toehold to another, grotesquely describing abnormal behavior and his residual humanity. Under the acrobatic daring, he creeps up on the family to eavesdrop on what they are discussing.
This hugely acclaimed and imaginative production combines a gravity-defying split level set, a mesmerizing music score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, and daring aerial physicality.
Gisli is a co-founder of Vesturport, a prestigious theater company, which has won a variety of nominations and awards for its productions throughout Europe.
Gisli played Romeo in ``Romeo and Juliet'' at the Young Vic Theatre in London and in the West End. He played Walser (the male lead) in Knee High's critically acclaimed adaptation of Angela Carter's novel, ``Nights At The Circus,'' which was staged in London and elsewhere in England.
He co-adapted, directed and played the part of Gregor Samsa in ``Metamorphosis'' whose original music composed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis at the Lyric Theatre in London's Hammersmith.
Kafka wrote this work in 1912 and the novel was published in 1915. The piece has received numerous interpretations about its political and social metaphors.
The play will be staged on May 16-18 at LG Arts Center. It will be conducted in English with Korean subtitles being displayed.
Tickets cost from 30,000 to 60,000 won. For more information, call (02) 2005-1424.