We bowed in admiration to the ‘Metamorphosis’ of Tasos Sagris
The press release praises the well-known work of Franz Kafka, analyzes its deep meanings, attempts to reduce to universal existential angles, conveys in words the author’s intellect, but for the performance itself as dramatization of the above… almost a word! And you wonder if it’s from modesty or weakness… and somehow “clap” not knowing what you’re going to meet on stage, since Kafka’s “psychological anatomy” plays are not the easiest for theatrical transfer. You go with modest expectations, knowing that the lure of the previous success in Athens, is very often fake… and just on this reservation and “misery” comes and finds you… the Miracle! And you enjoy it doubly, as all the viewers in the packed until inseparable Avlea Theater in Thessaloniki, for the performance “The Metamorphosis” of Franz Kafka directed by Tasos Sagris…
According to the case, a young employee who works conscientiously without any interruption for years in a company, supporting financially with her job exclusively this whole family after her father’s accident, suddenly one morning she fails to get out of bed… her body refuses to follow the fixed, planned procedures of years, while at the same time she feels “something” on her and inside her to change dramatically… occupy her tyrannical fantasies and sees her body at other times as a “big wound” and at other times as “an insect with thousands of feet that do not know where to go”… no longer able to obey pleas and orders from parents, sister or supervisor to return to her (convenient for all) normality, isolates ignorant and impoverished in her own world by emitting and collecting from everyone animosity, as they now treat her as a useless parasite that does not offer anything and must be eliminated…
What should we say now about Kafka’s masterpiece, which adorns world literature as a rare gem, alongside his other works? These works come from one of the brightest minds of the 20th century. Millions of readers have spoken, and its enviable position in libraries around the world is well-earned. Special analysts praise it for its high-level intellectualism, deep existential meanings, masterful writing, and impressive psychograms that “dissect” the human soul with few others displaying such precision. Kafka firmly chooses to focus on the “weak losers”—those whose conditions slowly disintegrate, mercilessly and silently, leading them toward paranoia. They either succumb to it or experience a “metamorphosis” in order to survive in a non-human world. This is epitomized in the tragic heroine, Gregor, who follows the rules, proves herself useful to others, and earns their acceptance while ignoring even her own people in the heavy mental cost she pays. Once her endurance is exhausted, and the terms change, the former standard becomes a pest with a detrimental presence. To avoid any misinterpretation, the word “diamond” applies in every sense—it says it all.
However, if the diamond for the play was known, that of the director by Tassos Sagris was a revelation! And we realized that a) finally out of modesty did not “praise” as he deserved his outstanding creation in promoting the show, when others for nothing are raving unsubstantiated hymns, and b) the previous success in Athens for this particular show is definitely true based on tangible “evidence”! Why is it impossible not to capture you, even occasionally shocking, such a strong performance with a masterpiece text that has been successful in accepting a great inspired direction given the difficult task… With a concentrated, targeted, accurate, meticulous, imaginative, modern director, who managed in just one hour to deliver all the inner power of the play, without missing or having any spare!
Tasos Sagris deserves great credit for his wisely thought-out choices and his mastery in combining extraordinary realism and fantasy. He blends elements of the past with flashes of the present, film optics with impeccable video, and live dramatization. The performance reaches ideal summits and intensities, while also incorporating comforting pauses. The evocative dark atmosphere, with excellent illuminations, and the icy mechanical movements of the surrounding environment, contribute to the explosive feeling throughout. The simple symbolic setting and the exquisite music, with continuous diversity that we could not have imagined, not only kept our interest completely engaged throughout the scenes but also conveyed, in the most modern, inspiring, and direct way, the deep spirit of a timeless human tragedy about submission and the attempt to disengage. As for the choice of the naked body for the heroine, it is one of the rare cases of absolute aptitude, to the point that you cannot imagine the role “dressed”, it would be completely false…
And coming to the interpretations, it goes without saying that we will start with a great blessing to Sissy Doutsiou as the central heroine Gregory for her spectacular feat, essentially lifting to her bare backs the main burden of the show… as her interpretation, apart from mental testimony, tragedy, emotion, internal conflicts, paranoia, involved intense physical stress, while the impressive kinesiology of “insect” or “convulsions” throughout caused sincere admiration (and plenty of applause) for her great professionalism, absolutely convincing in a difficult role – challenge… Simeon Tsakiris, Loukia Anagnou, Thomas Havianidis, in the wonderfully structured roles of the guilt mother, the callous father, the loving sister with the unpredictable conversion, the authoritarian head, with excellent directorial guidance in frozen rigid kinesiology and mechanical expression of speech without any exaggeration, as representatives of a cold power establishment with clear symbolism, referred to by the “hard” masks – men’s faces… In conclusion (=) I find if something was missing or missing or bothered or could be better and despite the… (known to pervert) “lice”, I do not find… After all the spontaneous sense of fullness leaving, after prolonged applause of viewers who for an hour did not salute even head, never falsified and is the most irrefutable witness that theatrical art performed its high work in full!
