Die Verwand­lung

In the organizer's words:

after Franz Kafka - in an adaptation by Dorle Trachternach and Kamilė Gudmonaitė - premiere on December 15, 2024 - Schauspielhaus, Kleines Haus - Stadt:Kollektiv

"When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from restless dreams, he found himself transformed into a monstrous vermin in his bed." Franz Kafka's classic begins with this radical statement. What happens when the body does not correspond to us, feels monstrous, false and strange, when our self-perception does not correspond to reality? What if it suddenly changes and we lose control over it? Or if the environment, our own family, perceives it as different, as repulsive? Today, the body is no longer given by fate: We shape ourselves, whether through training and transition, with the help of diet, surgery and body modification. In an examination of what is probably Kafka's most famous story, the production explores the body as a project between old constraints and new scope.
Kamilė Gudmonaitė directs the Lithuanian National Theater in Vilnius and is considered one of the most exciting directors of her generation. She has also made a name for herself internationally with works that deal with health, gender and generational conflicts. In her first production at the D'haus, she combines Kafka's world literature with the biographies of the players.