Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1219206
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 MARCH 2020 4 THIS WEEK THEATRE Aware of the challenge but keen to rise to it, composer Ruben Zahra speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about his upcoming production Kaf ka's Insect, a multi-disciplinary take on Franz Kaf ka's classic 1915 novella The Metamorphosis, in which Gregor Samsa finds himself transformed into an insect upon waking up one morning Morphing up to scratch Franz Kafka's Metamorpho- sis is, of course, one of the defining works of 20th century literature. What led you to undertake this multi-discipli- nary adaptation of the literary classic, and did you find its sizable cultural legacy at all intimidating? I was in search of a narrative that can be expressed with vintage lens videography and a soundtrack of contemporary piano combined with analog synthesizers. I wanted a 20th century classic that people could form a connection with. Initially I was considering adapting a collection of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. I finally chose The Meta- morphosis because I've been intrigued by this novella since my teenage years, and it proved to be the perfect candidate for my vision. The significant cultural lega- cy of The Metamorphosis can be intimidating, but in a good way. Working with a literary classic raises the benchmark because you want to do it jus- tice. What can audiences expect from this production, especial- ly those who may be familiar with Kafka's original novella? The audience will experience 'The Metamorphosis' as a cycle of video-art scenes, accompa- nied by a live piano score and modular analog synthesizers. In this project, the narrative is presented through those sec- tions in the story that portray 'sound' – such as the prodding of feet as the furniture is shuf- fled out of Gregor's room by Mrs Samsa and his sister, a me- dicinal glass vial shattering on the floor, apples tossed at Gre- gor, and so on. The video be- comes an 'instrument' creating a 'dialogue' between the live music recital and the sound- scape of the projected video. There is no dialogue in the entire video, so all those who have read the novella will ap- Teodor Reljic "The main problem with the local performing arts scene is that most artists do not promote their work beyond the national territory" Ruben Zahra