When Franz Kafka first published his novella in 1916 I doubt he imagined his story of Gregor Samsa a hard working, likable chap who wakes up one morning with the slight problem of having turned into a dung beetle would take off the way it has. Some of the most famous practitioners in the world have put on their character shoes and given the world their Gregor. Most recently, Cambridge University students have pitched their hat into the ring to join the likes of Stephen Berkoff and Vestuport in giving their adaptation of this piece.The premise is a Berkovian Circus, complete with ringmaster, jugglers, stilt-walkers and some very utile glowing juggling balls. We are welcomed in to the circus and the plot is intersected by brief comments made from the big top. It is a nice idea and fully abstracts from the concrete register while facilitating the design brilliantly. But I felt it was unnecessary and more than anything removed the impact of one of the greatest first lines ever written.As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic beetle.Further to this, all actors were adorned with a clown mask. Thus, neutralizing facial expression and requiring actors to fully externalize all emotions physically this was not always achieved. Noticeably during Gretas violin playing where she is supposedly in a utopia her mask read neutral.Having said this, the director deserves a pint - the ensemble work is tight, together and so exhilarating at times it left the audience gasping for breath. The company deal well with lifting a lot of Berkoffs original staging and physical theatre score while only having half the space and set he did. The supporting actors; family, clerk and lodgers were all very entertaining and slipped seamlessly between the ensemble and their roles. It could be proposed that some of the more awkward moments on stage felt that way because of a lack of trust. The clockwork pantomime breakfast sequence goes on with great effect for minutes rather than seconds in many of the productions I have seen. The one failing of this piece is in the performance of the lead male. His lack of connection to the text left me cold and he seemed more of a placeholder than someone performing one of the most challenging parts in physical theatre. I doubt this is news to either performer or director as all three of Gregors huge physical theatre moments were covered by impressive ensemble work.It may have helped had the actor in question not adopted Berkoffs immediately recognisable beetle stance and chosen a whole new way of attacking the challenges the part throws up. I would also suggest that the text puts Gregor through some incredibly high-level emotions emotions that any normal mortal would never dream of experiencing and that a decision even if that decision is to keep everything internal and give the lines dead-pan needs to made and respected.This, like Hamlet, is an actors real chance to show the world what is achievable the opportunities are limitless and the parameters for creativity are as wide as you get in theatre. I would have liked to see him go for it a lot more.The reasons that I suggest these things are not because I did not enjoy the show on the contrary it is one of my favourite shows this year. It is because performing a show like Metamorphosis in Edinburgh is going to draw a majority of people who know the show intimately.If like Cambridge, a company has the balls to step up to this challenge then perfection and beauty must be strived for. Although this is a fabulous adaptation - worth more than the ticket price - for me, it just fell short.
