Lemn Sissay’s latest collection of poetry is a kind of celebration of light, filled with verse written at the break of dawn over the course of a decade. It’s coming out soon, but right now he’s sitting in a windowless rehearsal room, working through the daylight hours on a new production of Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka’s dark tale of a man who changes into a huge insect.
Staged by Frantic Assembly and adapted by Sissay into a richly lyrical script, this morning’s rehearsal, taking place at the Lyric Hammersmith in London, is going over the opening sequence. It’s a swirl of movement: Felipe Pacheco, playing Gregor Samsa, the unfortunate man who transforms, springs and weaves around the stage while Hannah Sinclair Robinson, playing his sister Grete, lifts him off the ground.
