Explain and justify how you would direct the actors in this extract to demonstrate your

understanding of Berkoff’s intended style of acting.

Steven’s Berkoff’s stage adaptation of Franz Kafka’s novel ‘Metamorphosis’ was written in 1969
and attempted to bring to stage the nightmarish characteristics of the novel using elements of
non-naturalistic, exaggerated theatre (such as Kabuki) as well as using Total Theatre (In relation
to directing the actors, deliberate, functional choices in lighting and sound that would enhance
the performance of the actors).

As a director, during this section of the play, it would be my intention to show the family’s
apathy for Gregor (excluding Greta, who at this point in the play is has not yet begun to
disassociate ‘human’ Gregor from ‘bug’ Gregor) as well as to feel a sense of grotesque curiosity
for Gregor’s new bug-form, but also empathy, as the family further alienate him. All this would
be done with respect to Berkoff’s intended style of acting.

On the line ‘Gregor?’ I would direct the actor playing Greta (who would be played by a young
girl with absurdly large, black pigtails to show her youth and innocence- see diagram of
costume) to deliver this line in a child-like, sing-song tone of voice, lengthening the ‘o’ in
Gregor. This would convey a sense of childlike innocence and would then be contrasted
through the stage direction ‘shoving the saucer in’, where I would direct the actor playing Greta
to gather up her skirts and mime harshly shoving the saucer into Gregor’s ‘cage’ in an
unladylike, mechanical manner. As Gregor approaches the milk I would direct the actor playing
Gregor to move on all fours, moving fast and erratically towards the ‘milk’ at Leqoqs level 6
(Berkoff studied under Leqoq and was greatly influenced by his ideas, which would make this in
line with Berkoff’s intended style of acting) while making animalistic, guttural, grunts and lip
smacks before abruptly getting up and performing a mie (a Kabuki technique of stablishing a
character’s identity in a pose) of scratching the back of his neck with one hand, bending low
and waving to the audience with an exaggerated plastered smile. This would communicate my
intention of having the audience feel disgusted by the terrifying new physique of Gregor, which
would be enhanced by my casting of Gregor as a tall, extremely lean man, as well as sympathy,
since the ‘mie’ would remind them of Gregor’s personality outlined at the start of the play, ‘an
amiable being’.

On the lines ‘Why isn’t he drinking it’ I would direct the ensemble to perform these lines
contrapuntally (drawing on Berkoff’s intended style of acting, greatly influenced by Greek
Theatre) in order to communicate their confusion and frustration over Gregor. The pace of the
speech would increase, as well as the volume, till Greta would deliver the line ‘He’s probably
ashamed to drink it with us listening to him-let’s go away’, at which point the family would
move from centerstage right to downstage right, tiptoeing (‘they tiptoe downstage’) with
hunched backs in an over the top show of secrecy and stealth. I would then have Greta trip and
fall over, while Mr. and Mrs. Samsa loudly shush her. This would be done in a style very much
reminiscent of a comedic silent film sequence and would act as a moment of Brechtian Spass (a
combination of two of Berkoff’s key influences in his intended style of acting) in order to allow
the audience to engage in the reason why they are laughing, due to the