Metamorphosis (NHB Modern Plays): (stage version)

By Franz Kafka

Gregor Samsa wakes up each morning, quietly leaves the house to take the same train, and works to pay off the family debt.
But that world explodes one morning, when Gregor awakes to find himself changed. To those around him he is dangerous, untouchable vermin. Worse than that, he is a burden.
Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka's shocking tale of cruelty and kindness, has been a literary landmark since it was first published in 1915. Lemn Sissay's thrilling stage adaptation is a visceral and vital depiction of humans struggling within a system that crushes them under its heel. It was commissioned and first produced in 2023 by Frantic Assembly, in a co-production with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve, MAST Mayflower Studios, and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, and was directed by Scott Graham.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Release date: Sep 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9781788507257

Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a primarily German-speaking Bohemian author, known for his impressive fusion of realism and fantasy in his work. Despite his commendable writing abilities, Kafka worked as a lawyer for most of his life and wrote in his free time. Though most of Kafka’s literary acclaim was gained postmortem, he earned a respected legacy and now is regarded as a major literary figure of the 20th century.

Book preview

ACT ONE

Pre-Metamorphosis

The show opens with someone lying in a bed. A beautiful light has invaded the space. The figure sits up. It is GRETE.

She walks around the room. She drapes herself in fabric and looks in the mirror. She talks to the portrait of the woman in a frame on the wall.

GRETE. The door was open. Cross my heart and hope to die. Honest promise.

This way? Miss Mysterious. Or this way? Or is it Mrs?

How about like this?

We can be friends. Me and you. In the dark. My best pose would be… yes? Or not. You tell me what you see? Everything. Okay. Deal. What do you see now?

She’s bored. She leaves.

Blackout.

Lamp comes on in the room. GREGOR stirs from the same bed. He gets up, as he does every morning.

GREGOR. My name’s Mr Samsa and I love fabric. I see you love fabric too.

He takes what he needs for work. He touches the portrait and leaves. A beautiful light invades the space. GRETE makes her way to his room where, like a cat, she climbs onto his bed and enjoys the warmth of it. She sits up. She gets up. She drapes herself in fabric and looks in the mirror.

GRETE. Purrrrrrrrr purrrrrrr purrrrrrrrrrrr.

MRS SAMSA (from off). GRETE.

Blackout.

A lamp comes on in the room and GREGOR stirs from the same bed. He’s tired. He takes what he needs for work. He sees the portrait and touches it. When he leaves, GRETE makes her way to his room, climbs onto his bed, and enjoys the warmth of it. She sits up. She gets up. GRETE leaves the room.

Blackout.

A lamp comes on in the room and GREGOR stirs from the same bed. He gets up, drained, and summons the strength and energy in the darkness to get ready.

GREGOR. My name is Mr Samsa and I love fabric.

…and leaves his room. He touches the portrait. He takes what he needs for work. GRETE enters. She speaks to the woman in the painting.

GRETE. ‘Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller.

Blackout.

A lamp comes on in the room. GREGOR stirs from the same bed. He gets up, summons the strength and energy in the darkness to get ready. He leaves.

GRETE speaks to the portrait.

Gregor is my brother. Of a sort. In case you didn’t know. He was meaning to introduce us so I guess he won’t mind if I do. It is your pleasure to greet me and mine to meet you. Grete.

GREGOR. My name… Samsa… fabric…

GREGOR leaves. Then returns to touch the painting, then leaves.

I’m sorry.

Blackout.

A lamp comes on in the room. GREGOR stirs from the same bed. He gets up, summons the strength and energy in the darkness to get ready.

My name…? My name? My name.

GREGOR leaves. GRETE enters.

GRETE. Oh this? It’s something Gregor bought in Paris, I can’t remember the store, or was it Belgium? It’s the finest… material. You have been to the same store I see. It’s the same. Yes what is it called now, the store, it’s on the tip of my tongue…

From outside the room.

MRS SAMSA. Grete.

GRETE freezes and exits.

Blackout.

A lamp comes on in the room and GREGOR stirs from the same bed. He gets up, leaves his room. He mumbles to himself and to the portrait.

GRETE makes her way to his room.

GRETE. Hello, my, name, is, Grete Samsa.

GREGOR. Hello my name is…

GRETE. And I love life.

GRETE talks to the portrait.

The silk and wool and satin and lace. Gregor made so much noise last night I checked he was okay. I am sure he doesn’t sleep. So here we are. You can ask me anything about him. You can tell me anything about him and I won’t tell a soul.

Boy, have I got a secret to tell you.

Blackout.

A lamp comes on in the room and GREGOR stirs from the same bed. He gets up.

GREGOR. I’m Mr Samsa and I love fabric.

Good morning, Mrs Richards. Beautiful weather. Mr Richards is in good health? Good good. Mrs Richards, you look as radiant as the sunshine. I have a silk dress the exact same colour as those eyes.

GREGOR leaves. A moth appears in the room, GRETE catches it.

GRETE. This is the beauty, this is the beauty.

GREGOR bursts into the room.

MR SAMSA. My name is Mr Samsa and I love fabric.

MRS SAMSA. My name is Mr Samsa and I love fabric.

GREGOR. My name is Mr Samsa and I love fabric.

GREGOR hands money to his father.

Blackout.

GREGOR returns and we see a repeat of the

Reviews for Metamorphosis (NHB Modern Plays)

[comfypants · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A 1915 novella.After turning into a giant bug, a young man is no longer able to provide for his family.C (Indifferent).Depressing, to a degree that shouldn't be possible with such a weird and inherently silly premise. At least it's short.(Dec. 2022)

[martensgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps I haven't read enough serious literature or maybe I don't know enough about fiction at the beginning of the 20th century, but I didn't 'get' this book. It is described as an 'allegorical' novel, but I have to ask, "An allegory of what?" It is very atmospheric and creepy for a short book, mainly because of the obvious unanswered questions: how did Samsa end up as an insect and why did the family house a monster? Instead, Samsa seemed more concerned about missing work...

[iudita_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Boy oh Boy, did I struggle with this. So I went to the internet searching for clarification and discovered there are as many interpretations of this book as there are legs on Gregor's new buggish body. I find it fascinating that people have been reading and discussing this book for 100 years and no one seems to have completely figured it out yet. Is it about the alienation of modern life? The Role of the individual in the family? Who can say with any degree of confidence? So this book was a conundrum for me but it has piqued my interest in Kafka. I'm not through with him yet. He had enough influence on me to leave me in a dark funk at the end of this book without really even knowing why. That intrigues me. Maybe I'll try The Trial next.

[jostie13 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In particular liked the Eric Santner essay "Kafka's Metamorphosis and the Writing of Abjection." Lots of good supplemental material generally.

[borrows0n0wants · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this! It was heart-breaking, but still good, nonetheless. I love how it starts out with Gregor waking up as a "bug" and then just mildly taking notice, more concerned about how he needs to get up because he is late for work. I also love how Kafka doesn't try to explain how Gregor woke up this way; he just takes the idea and runs with it. Absolutely wonderful.

[eric_j._guignard · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

REVIEWED: The Metamorphosis
WRITTEN BY: Franz Kafka
PUBLISHED: MONTH, YEAR

“The Metamorphosis” is an enjoyable read, not difficult (as is often the expectation of classic literature), and interesting, in a unique, quiet way. It’s also overrated and, in my opinion, unsatisfying. The publisher’s overview is: “Gregor Samsa, a young man who, transformed overnight into a monstrous verminous bug, becomes an essentially alienated man.” That essentially sums up the entire story. There’s no more plot or build-up than that. Gregor hides in his room all day, as a bug, much to his and his family’s dismay. There’s no explanation as to what occurred to transform him as such, nor any great closing revelation; the story is simply Gregor caught up in his thoughts. It’s a book of interior voice, analogy, philosophy, satire, but not much “story.” There are many themes to contemplate, and if you are searching for a better understanding to man’s lot in life, this book may be for you. However, in terms of entertainment, it’s insufficient. Extra points allotted, however, for originality and for being the inspiration to numerous authors and genre movements such as satire and the more-recent bizarro.

Three-and-a-half out of Five stars

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this in high school and saw it as a story about a guy turning into a bug. Rereading it as an adult I see it as a story of family obligations, dreams deferred, codependency, and losing yourself in service to others. I definitely got so much more out of it this time. It's a good reminder for me to give books a second look at different stages of life.

[jreynolds1959 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The title was truly apt. When Gregor metamorphosed, so did everyone around him. People are expendable, that is what I took from this story.

[stef7sa-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kafka's stories are in a league of their own. Underlying the anecdotical content itself, are subconscious emotions and motivations, that stirr up every now and then, leading to a kind of electrical shock in the reader, a shock of recognition without immediate understanding. In this story guilt and revolt are such underlying emotions, Gregor having been used by his immediate family to provide for their income. By turning into a kind of cockroach he refuses to go on any longer, but this provokes an intense feeling of guilt in him as well. It is typical of the unspoken emotions in this family that he has to choose this absurd, perverse method of revolt.The weirdness of the tale does not prevent the intense sadness the reader experiences about the fate of Gregor.

[knotbox · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Depressing, Freudian symbology, not too enjoyable and wholly tear-inducing. A very bitter take on the world and humanity. Cynical and not too much of a story as a philosophical study of the doomed future of mankind. Don't read unless you feel you should...

It is profound, and terribly worth delving into for the fact of how bizarrely interesting it is. But don't anticipate reading it more than once.

[calavari · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was interesting and weird. I hadn't known what to expect when I started it, so I was astounded by what was there. Obviously, the writing was amazing. It kept me wondering what was going on and how things were going to end until the last word. Heart-wrenching, but enjoyably so.

[bookson23rd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don’t know why I thought reading Kafka might be difficult. The Metamorphosis is just a story about a guy who wakes up as a beetle. A very large beetle. What’s so difficult about that?
His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, were waving helplessly before his eyes.
Gregor Samsa is entirely believable living as a beetle. He still thinks mostly like a human and isn’t generally alarmed at his changed body. When his manager comes to the apartment to see why Gregor didn’t show up for work, Gregor tries his best to get out of his room:
He actually intended to open the door, actually present himself and speak to the manager; he was eager to find out what the others, who were now so anxious to see him, would say at the sight of him.
Gregor’s family, although never decisive as to what to do with Gregor, seems to carry on just fine by getting jobs themselves and taking in boarders, after previously living off of Gregor’s income for five years. Of course they are upset that their son, and brother, is unable to communicate with them.
“Did you understand a word?” the manager was asking his parents. “He isn’t trying to make fools of us, is he?”
I liked the story. Without dissecting it to smithereens trying to eke every meaning out of it, I’m satisfied to think of it as a story about the stifling oppression of working for a corporation, where you are no more than a bug.
The ending left me depressed, probably because I sensed that I understood the futility Gregor felt.
READ THIS BOOK because it’s a classic!

[daniellemd-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Unfortunately I haven't read most of the classics, so I've set out to change that. This book was pretty fascinating. It's very short, and packs a lot of story into about 100 pages.
Before I read this book I assumed the titular metamorphosis was this man changing into whatever he changes into. That notion was shot when on the first page, he had already transformed. The metamorphosis is not his physical change (Which is never explained or questioned by him or his family, which is fine by me) but the change/decline of his emotional and mental state, and the change that his family undergoes while dealing with this horrifying development.
As someone who has dealt with having a seriously ill family member in the home, I felt this story was a metaphor for that experience. Other people may take away another moral or metaphor from it, and that's the beauty of stories like this. They mean something different to everyone, and almost everyone can find something that they may identify with.

[trilliams · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Tale as old as time. Boy turns into insect. Family abandons boy. Boy dies alone. It's probably a lot deeper than that.

[bdtrump · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A classic and short must-read, Kafka's work addresses how a family adjusts to an absurd event, and ultimately comes to despise a once-beloved family member

[jimocracy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This a well-written but bizarre story. I'm sure there's a moral or lesson in there somewhere but it has eluded me.

[vincentdarlage · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a strange and fascinating story! Wow.

[jacobflaws · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Strange, but he is such a good writer.

[thedreadlink · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I read the first line of this book I was amused. I instantly thought of the image of a giant beetle lying on a bed and almost laughed. This book was absurd and well-written. Kafka expertly wrote Gregor's downward mental spiral from human into insect. He kept the story familair with adding a strong sense of the unkown because no one can really relate to the book. The family felt odd and detached as they delt with Gregor and ending up letting him die. Also the description of the guests the family had stay with them made me view them as two of the members of ZZ Top. This book was good and the images it made me think of kept it moving along nicely.

[la2bkk · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There are many layers to The Metamorphosis, revealing the book's symbolism and complexity. What I enjoyed most was Kafka's writing style. Short, simple yet tremendously engaging. While no doubt odd, the storyline was captivating. Interestingly, few reviewers have noted the subtle humor which permeated the book, some of the best I have ever read (perhaps along with Dostoyevsky's novella Notes From the Underground).While many classic works can require effort, this book flowed seamlessly and left me wanting more. A true classic and a must read.

[potterhead9.75 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I know exactly how Grete feels. I have a bug for a brother, too. =_=

Writers from Prague tend to leave indelible impressions on my mind. I'll admit it, I have a pro-Prague bias, I love all things European with the intimacy only a foreigner can achieve. Kafka and Kundera, they are inevitably infused with some of the magic of Prague. Their works are steeped in nuance, they play with overtones and instil their words with ambiguity. All stories are so inherently beautiful in their own right, the act of writing reviews often consist of little more than the cherry-picking of a few choice adjectives, and private, fragmentary reflections on the impotency of words that stubbornly refuse to convey to others the very emotions they provoke in us. The job of the modern writer, then, is to capture that elusive, transient feeling with their words, to bottle it and sell it. Kafka sells despair, but a subtle form of hopelessness that uses the theme of alienation from the rest of the world to express itself. Leaves you just as, if not more, utterly devastated by the end.

[aoibhealfae · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is the story where a successful man found himself turned into a huge monstrous vermin. Because of it, he lost his job and he became totally reliant upon his family who had become reliant on him prior his transformation. While his mother can't bare the sight and the smell of him and his father's emotional and physical abuse, his sister somehow provide him an anchor and at times he pondered about the significance of his existence the entirety of his fate as a giant insect stuck inside a house.

I am not quite sure how to respond to this overanalyzed book without being repetitive. I understood the symbolism of the text and the psychology of the author while he was writing this because soon it became more apparent that this is getting too personal. I also didn't think that Kafka had any prior knowledge in entomology at the time of writing. He was quite specific about his reaction as an insect which probably from observance since his mirrored character's conducts are too unspecific to be taken literally other than as a symbolic way to portray his issues in literal form.

In some strange way, I do think "Metamorphosis" is a come-of-age book. His transformation is a symbolism for puberty. His cocooned stage and avoidance of the world told a story about himself and by including his family's disappointment throughout the whole novel, it does make sense how the Japanese are more inspired by him than I ever was. There were countless of J-drama, manga and anime seemingly dedicated on the nature of this book which told much about the culture itself. Junji Ito and Kaori Yuuki made a good deal Kafka-esque influence in their work.

I do wish I could read the original untranslated work as some meanings can be lost in between since I do think the translation made the book unseemingly bland. I felt it became too passive and monotonous and weirdly predictable. Probably because I've been indirectly influenced by Kafka but psychologically speaking, this guy was obviously depressed that he had to stoop into empathising with an insect to express his feeling and downright emotionally-scarred by his family and I think he even lost his sense and his faith in humanity just by writing this.

In a sense, I do think he is hollow in the inside. Alone and disappointed in the world and severely disappointed in himself. He detailed how his family didn't care about him as their son. How can anybody be more severe on himself like that. This is a story of a confused boy who sees the world through an injured mind and became so frightened by it that he even became too afraid to be free and found death as welcome instead.

I don't love this book. I don't hate it either. I only felt this monotonous depth of sadness and pity. If this isn't an academical reading, I don't think I would revel in the work of an unhappy childhood and emotionally abusive family for the sake of reading literature pretentiously.

[bolgai · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I first read this book in high school my impression of it was "What terrible drivel! And this guy is a literary heavyweight!?", which is just more proof that what is considered literature was not written for children and therefore children are not the best audience for these works. They're just not equipped to understand the nuances of the story and to read between the lines. Of course there's always the option that my teacher wasn't all that good or that I was a particularly dense teenager, but I prefer the first theory. If you read up on Metamorphosis you'll see the opinion that Gregor's transformation into an insect was just a physical manifestation of what he already was. Another commonly-accepted view is that the more important metamorphosis was that of the Samsa family as a result of Gregor's transformation. These interpretations made me think about the significance of Gregor changing into a creature that is revolting, a creature the family tries to accept but at the end cannot, and I wonder, for what is that a metaphor? What kind of person is Kafka writing about, what is it about him that is so unacceptable to his family? There is a passage toward the beginning of the book that indicates that there's something wrong with the lower abdomen of the insect Gregor, that it's diseased in some way. Then toward the end there is a passage about Gregor wanting to kiss his sister's neck. Do these passages reveal something about the nature of this character that overnight makes him a pariah in his own family? I think they do, and maybe I'm over-thinking it, but when viewed through that prism the story makes more sense than when it's not. I'm pleased to say that this re-reading confirmed for me that Kafka's work deserves every bit of its exalted reputation. He really was a master of weaving stories that feel very close when you read them, despite the fantastical nature. Reading this book you can see the Samsas' apartment, them, and their issues. You even somewhat understand why the family feel about Gregor the way they do, regardless of his present state. After all, you know the man who dreams about kissing his sister's neck was odd even before his transformation into a gigantic insect. In fact, Metamorphosis is full of such implied revelations, but you have to be paying attention to see them. I would definitely recommend reading closely to get the most of out this book, and indeed any other of Kafka's work, because it seems that the boldest ideas are the closest to the truth with this author. Just bear in mind that often his imagery is far from innocent. I'm curious to read more of Kafka's work now and I'm fully prepared to take my time with every piece, because his writing is just not something you should breeze through. Should you decide to pick up anything he's written I recommend you prepare yourself to take your time as well.

[amberthehuman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So, is it like if he died but had to watch his family cope afterward? Or is it just cause I was thinking about The Sixth Sense before I started?

[elpaca · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Long short story, read countless times. I have analyzed it in class, online, in my Mother-in-laws kitchen, until I am dulled by the whole thing. Did he become a butterfly or a moth? I forget.

[dianalynn5287-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

OKKKKK so I've re-read this book because I've been thinking about it lately and I just seem to grow more fond of it...It is simply art in a novel and I don't really know why I didn't re-read it sooner. LOVE 9/10

[devil_llama · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kafka's famous novella is a quick and lively read, able to be consumed in a single sitting. A story about a man who awakens one morning to find himself morphed into a giant insect and the reaction of his family and other acquaintances. It is a tragic story, a story of what happens when someone no longer conforms to societal expectations and finds himself an outsider in a world where he used to belong. It's also an interesting study in the changes that have occurred in literature over the past century. Any editor or creative writing instructor today would refuse to accept this classic work because it doesn't fit the "rules" of writing. Perhaps that should be a lesson to those who would impose arbitrary rules; Kafka has written a masterpiece.

[karalawyer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

great novella. Amazing how you can develop such empathy for an insect!

[garypatella · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A story that is short enough to read in a couple of hours, yet interesting and bizarre enough to stay with you for a lifetime. Amount gained from reading is incredible when compared to the short amount of time it takes to read.

[srumzi_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was disgusted and riveted.