Berkoff: Metamorphosis

The Second playwright we have to study as part of the A Level course is Steven Berkoff. When we first introduced to Berkoff we were given parts of the script to "Metamorphosis."

Summary:
Metamorphosis is a modern adaptation of Kafka's famous story. It is about a man named Gregor Samsa. He is the sole financial supporter for his family until he awakes one morning in the form of a giant dung beetle. He therefore, becomes a nuisance to his family as they try and have lodgers stay and struggle as they learn to rely on themselves. 

Lessons:
When we were first given the opening scene of the script, I didn't understand the play at all. However, when we discussed it as a class, I now understand that he became a dung beetle because as he was the sole provider for his family, he had a lot of weight on his shoulders. The similarity between Gregor and a dung beetle is that a dung beetle carries faeces wherever it goes and in a sense, Gregor is just the same. 

As I mentioned earlier, the first lesson we were introduced to Berkoff, we were given the opening scene to Metamorphosis. As a class, we were split into two groups of five. I worked with, Lisa, John, Aimee and Ellie. I played Mrs Samsa, Lisa played Mr Samsa, John, Gregor, Aimee, Greta and Ellie was not a character in the opening scene, so she helped direct us. 

Once we had practised and performed the opening scene, we were given the lodger scene to perform. We all played the same characters, however, Ellie was cast as all three lodgers. This scene was interesting to act out, as was the first scene. However, you learn in this scene why Gregor has become a dung beetle and the way people treat him, both as an insect and as a person in general. 

Introduction: Elements of A Berkoff Production

• Large exaggerated mime and juxtaposition.
• The replacement of props and furniture with what can be created by the actor's bodies.
• Almost hieratic leading characters, takingthe audience through the narrative.
• The link with the idea of 'Total Theatre' which seeks to attract an almost spiritual response from the audience through using all of the resources of theatre including actors.
• Emphasis of thector as the most important and creative aspect of the performance.
• Emphasis on physical theatre and mime.
• Scenery is significant by absence. Both actor and audience are made aware of acting space and of the creativity of the performance. Berkoff's style relies heavily upon the actor's skills and mime. It also relies on the audience's ability to recognise and understand the signs in order to create a world on the stage.
• Berkoff's character's should establish themsleves as story tellers through the actor's words, spacial positioning physical attitude in relation to the audience.
• Performances are orchestrated, the way in which words are spoken, facial expressions and phyxial movements are all choreographed to inform each other.
• An actor can be visually a lone figure on stage, but can also take on different purposes.

Introduction: Influences

Laurence Olivier:

Laurence Olivier was born in 1907 and died in 1989, Olivier was possibly the greatest theatre actor in Britain. He acted in and directed Shakespeare plays and were considered as "definitive." In cinema he achieved a Matinee Idol success in films such as "Rebecca." When Olivier died, his wife was so distraight that she pulled out of a season in National Theatre, so Berkoff was brought in to fill in for his wife. Berkoff had a huge admiration of Olivier and is significantly apparent in his one-man show, "Shakespeare's Villains."

Edmund Kean:

Edmund Kean was born in 1787 and 1833. He was one of teh actors that Berkoff admired. Kena had an under- privileged background and fought to establish himself in theatre, like Berkoff. Kean was famous for his take on Shakespeare and his combining of passion adn melodrama. Berkoff's admiration was so much that he considered reviving a play about Kean that Alexandre Dumas wrote about him and Jean- Paule Sarte. In 2006, Berkoff played one of Kean's most successful roles in Leopold Lewis' play, "The Bells" in memory of Kean.

Bertolt Brecht:

Bertolt Brecht was born in 1898 and died in 1956 and was a German Playwright, but left Germany when Hitler came to power. His plays were innovative and shows anti-fascist stance whcih Berkoff uses in his own play, "East," where the actors destroy naturalsim by addressing the audnece, which was a completely new to audiences when Brecht introduced them.

Atonin Artaud:

Antonin Artaud was born in 1896 and died in 1948. His theorretical writing, the manifestos for a Theatre of Cruelty, which influences modern theatre. Artaud wanted to move away from structured melodrama towards a theatre thatt was reinvigorated by danger and cruelt by using the power of words and gestures to release emotions. Not only did he influence modern theatre, he also inspired Berkoff in many of his plays. Artaud belived in the theatre of cruelty and intimidating the audience and making them feel irrelevant. He believed in using unconventional settings, abstract movements and characterisation.   

Jean- Louis Barrault:

Jean- Louis Barrault was born in 1910 and died in 1994. He formed his own theatre company and developed the use of mime in theatre, which influenced Berkoff when he founded the London Theatre Group.

Franz Kafka:

Franz Kafka was born in 1883 and died of tuberculosis in 1924. Kafka studied literature, before he tokk up law at university. Only a small amount of his writings were published during his lifetime, but on his deathbed he told a friend to destroy all of his unpublished work, howver he did not. Kafka's work remained relatively unknown until after World War , where he gained an international reputation as one of the greatest writer of the 20th century. Metamorphosis was probably his best- known stories which was first published in 1915 in German and was first translated into English in 1936 and has been translated several times since then. The story portrays a world that is hostile and perhaps absurd and that major themes in the story like father-son antagonism, alienation at work, isolation and self- sacrifice.

Introduction: Steven Berkoff

Steven Berkoff was born in Stepney, London. In 1968, he formed the London Theatre group, after studying drama and mime in London and Paris. His plays have been performed in many different countries and languages. 

Berkoff's stage plays include East, Decadence, Metamorphosis and many others that have been performed all over the world. 

Steven has acted in many films such as; Clockwork Orange, Beverly Hills Cop, Rambo and more. He has also directed and co-starred in the film- version of his own play, Decadence. 

He has also published a variety of books on the theatre and his work has led him to travel the globe. 


Here is a scene from one of Berkoff's plays "East":