Hi everyone and welcome back to another review! I was kindly invited to see ‘Metamorphosis’ which is adapted by Lemn Sissay. 

It tells the story of Gregor who works hard as a salesman to try and help to provide for his family. But one day he finds himself turning into an insect. The story tells of Gregor’s transformation and how it affects his family and those around him. 

As this is a show that I had never heard of before I found the whole show interesting from both a story and staging perspective. 

Most of the show is quite dark and grey at least that’s how I found it from the start. But there are some brighter moments which helped me see the show and understand the characters. At the start of the show, there was an amazing use of atmosphere, music and sound. It made the show more mysterious, interesting, and intriguing and made me want to watch the show more and to find out what it was all about. 

The main set of Gregor’s bedroom had the use of false perspective which at times made it difficult to see when the cast or set was at the very back of the set itself. But most of the show was further forward on the set and that made it more easier to see. 

I wasn’t sure if the cast had microphones on at all or whether or not there was a tech issue, but there were times within the show when I struggled to fully understand the lines the cast was delivering so as a result I probably missed some parts of the story. So I think me and other people would have benefited from a touch tour before the show to get a better understanding of both the sets and the story. Also, Audio Description would be a huge benefit to people with limited to no useful vision, as there is a lot of physical staging and drama throughout the whole which was a very welcome change and something that I don’t see very often so would be nice to see more shows doing that, but then if that is the case, please made sure you have at least performance that is an audio described performance. 

I was in row E for this performance which for people with some useful vision I would say is the minimum I would say you would need to comfortably watch the show, but if I were to see this show again I would pick a closer seat so I can fully experience the show even more than I did. 

The overall show was really enjoyable and the whole cast did an amazing job! Felipe Pacheco stood out thanks to his physical performance as Gregor. But also Troy Glasgow for his performance as the father. He had this very authoritative and commanding presence about his charter and his lines were beautifully delivered throughout. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this show from start to finish, yes some of the show was difficult but I enjoyed it. If you want to see something different and new, then go give this a watch. Unfortunately, the is no Touch Tour or Audio Description for this show as it’s only running for a few days, but I think it should come back for the longer run so more people can come and experience this awesome show. 

‘Metamorphosis’ is currently running at The Mercury Theatre from 8th – 11th November 2023, go and pick up your tickets now at the link by clicking here.

Until Next Time,

The VI Critic