To rescue Kahlo from the clutches of the corporate art market, we need to acknowledge the overt and covert political dimensions of the work, demands GAVIN O’TOOLE
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With the beetles
SUSAN DARLINGTON is disappointed by a show that emphasises roles rather than characters
QUEASILY PITCHED: Frantic Assembly's production of Metamorphosis
[Tristram Kenton]
If you can see past the relentless commodification you will be rewarded by enormously powerful work, suggests JENNY MITCHELL
CHRIS SEARLE revels in the one-off collaboration between an American polymath and a British Muslim, and detects the presence of their revolutionary forebear
GORDON PARSONS revels in an ebullient production of Shakespeare’s magical comedy
BRENT CUTLER welcomes a thoughtful analysis of the Erdogan regime, viewed through the evolving history of a neighbourhood in Istanbul
GORDON PARSONS regrets the price, but is dazzled by an outstandingly ambitious study of the way art restoration in particular, and culture in general was weaponised by the Nazis
Metamorphosis
York Theatre Royal
ANYONE who’s ground down by the 9-5 will be able to relate to the opening scene in Metamorphosis. Adapted from Franz Kafka’s novella by Lemn Sissay, in partnership with Frantic Assembly, it shows Gregor Samsa (Felipe Pacheco) stuck in a Groundhog Day of hellish salesmanship.
“I love fabric!” he perkily announces, grabbing his briefcase and waving off his parents and sister Grete as he leaves the house. It’s a routine that’s repeated again and again and again. Each time his voice is less enthusiastic, his body more slumped, his goodbyes more frazzled.
The scene, which starts in a drab bedroom whose perspectives are queasily pitched, is accompanied by pulses of 1950s adverts that proclaim the value of hard work, capitalism, and the role of the working man. Doubling down on the message, Gregor’s parents speak in marketing slogans and Grete (Hannah Sinclair Robinson) practices model poses in a full-length mirror as she transitions into womanhood.
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