Seuls en Scène 2025 presents a Reading-Performance of La Métamorphose by Franz Kafka
September 17 • 8:00 pm
Free
Celebrated French actor Micha Lescot comes to Seuls en Scène for the first time, accompanied by musicians, and presents a musical reading performance of Franz Kafka’s masterpiece La Métamorphose.
With Micha Lescot lending his voice to Kafka’s tale, in which everything is perceived through the prism of a being no one wants to see or hear, Syd Matters blends the modern sounds of electronic music with the more timeless sounds of acoustic instruments to deliver a highly personal interpretation of La Métamorphose.
One morning, “coming out of restless dreams,” Gregor Samsa wakes up transformed into “a huge, filthy bug.” Never named but precisely described, with its hard, bulging carapace and multitude of pitifully spindly, swarming legs, the beast has a body that disgusts anyone who sees it. Starting with Gregor himself. Quickly incarcerated in his room, from which he hardly ever leaves, he is excluded from the “circle of the human species.”
Tickets
Free and open to the public; advance tickets required. Tickets available in late August.
Reserve free tickets through University Ticketing
Performance Details
Reading and performance in French with English supertitles. Duration: 1 hour
See all shows in 2025 French Theater Festival
Directions
Get directions to the Wallace Theater, located on the Forum level of the Lewis Arts complex, and find other venue information for the arts complex.
Accessibility
The Wallace Theater is an accessible venue. The show will be performed in French with English supertitles.
Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information about our various locations. Guests in need of access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at 609-258-5262 or email LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week in advance of the event date.
Additional Media
Podcast: “La Métamorphose” — Adama Diop reads Franz Kafka
Photo Gallery
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About the Artists
Franz Kafka was a German-speaking Czech writer (1883-1924). The son of a Jewish family, he studied law at Prague University, as well as German and art history. In 1909, he published his first writings in the magazine Hyperion and began writing his Diary. By day, he worked as a lawyer in an insurance company to earn a living and wrote at night. This led to the publication of Le Verdict. In 1912, he wrote The Metamorphosis, which was published three years later. In the summer of 1914, he began writing The Trial, which he would work on for several years. Suffering from tuberculosis since 1917, he died in 1924 at the age of 41 in the Kierling sanatorium in Prague. He left a vast body of work, including his major novels The Trial, The Castle and America, which were published posthumously thanks to his friend Max Brod, against Kafka’s wish to destroy his writings.
Photo courtesy Micha Lescot
Since graduating from the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in 1996, Micha Lescot has worked with Roger Planchon: La Tour de Nesle, after Alexandre Dumas, Le Triomphe de l’amour by Marivaux (1997), Félicie, La provinciale by Marivaux (2001), Célébration by Harold Pinter (2005). With Philippe Adrien, Arcadia by Tom Stoppard (1998), Victor ou les enfants au pouvoir by Roger Vitrac (1999). He has also appeared in productions by Jacques Nichet, Denis Podalydès, David Lescot, Jean-Michel Ribes Musée haut, musée bas (Molière for Best New Actor). Eric Vigner directed him in several shows: Où boivent les vaches by Roland Dubillard (2004), Jusqu’à ce que la mort nous sépare (2006) and Sextett by Rémi De Vos (2009). He met Luc Bondy in 2008 for Marivaux’s La Seconde surprise de l’amour. Their collaboration continued with Ionesco’s Les Chaises (2010), Harold Pinter’s Le Retour (2012), Molière’s Le Tartuffe (2014 and 2016), and Anton Chekhov’s Ivanov, a role for which he again received -the Prix du meilleur comédien du Syndicat de la Critique in 2015 and for which he was nominated for Best Actor in a Public Theater Performance at the 2015 Molières ceremony. In 2017, he starred alongside Emmanuelle Devos and Louis-Do de Lencquesaing in the play by and directed by Yasmina Reza Bella Figura. He also forms an irresistible duo with Jérôme Deschamps in Bouvard et Pécuchet at the Théâtre de la Ville (Paris). In 2019, he shared the stage with Mathieu Amalric, Laurent Poitrenaux and Valérie Dashwood in Harold Pinter’s La Collection, directed by Jean-Luc Lagarde. He was also on stage at the Théâtre du Rond-Point in Départ Volontaire by Rémi De Vos, directed by Christophe Rauck. In 2021, he was Charles in Bernard-Marie Koltès’ play Quai Ouest, directed by Ludovic Lagarde. He co-starred with Laurent Poitrenaux, Dominique Reymond, Léa Luce Busato, Laurent Grévill. And in 2022, he played Richard II in William Shakespeare’s play, directed by Christophe Rauck. The play was performed at the Avignon Festival and at the Théâtre des Amandiers in Nanterre. For this role, he was awarded the Molière for Best Actor in a Public Theater Production in 2024. His film credits include work with Claire Denis, Albert Dupontel, Dante Desarthe, Noémie Lvovsky, Bertrand Bonello, Léa Fazer, Sébastien Betbeder, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi (nominated for a César for best supporting actor for “Les Amandiers”), Maïwenn, Olivier Assayas, Arnaud Desplechin, Abd al Malik, Amos Gitai. In the 2025-26 season he will play the role of Wilfrid in Wajdi Mouawad’s Littoral; Mouawad’s last play at Théâtre de la Colline as its director.
Syd Matters is a French folk band. Blending folk and melancholy pop, their musical style blends slow melodies and acoustic instruments without denying their electronic roots.
Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and author of two acclaimed albums, Olivier Marguerit is a graduate of the American School of Modern Music in Paris, where he studied composition, orchestral arrangement and improvised music. With Syd Matters in 2007, he wrote the soundtrack for Nicolas Klotz’s award-winning film La Question Humaine before working solo on music for films and design projects for radio and stages.
On stage and on record, Jonathan Morali is Syd Matters, surrounded by his musicians and collaborators. He is the author of four albums between 2003 (A Whisper and a Sigh and Black & White Eyes) and 2011 (Brother Ocean). Morali’s music draws equally on the songwriting of the 60s, the breadth and freedom of the 70s, and the synthetic sounds of the last decade. Alongside Syd matters, he writes for the cinema, including soundtracks for La Question Humaine and Möbius.
Production Credits
Reading by Micha Lescot
Music by Syd Matters: Jonathan Morali and Olivier Marguerit (Guitar and keyboard)
Translation Jean-Pierre Lefèbvre (éditions Gallimard)
First reading France Culture – Festival Avignon 2021
Production: Sorcières & Cie – Véronique Felenbok
Special Thanks
Véronique Felenbok, David Lescot & Blandine Masson.