Directors

James Macdonald

Director of Blasted and 4.48 Psychosis. Other works he has directed include Fugard´s Master Harold and the Boys and Caryl Churchill's Thyestes.  For the National Theatre he directed James Joyce's Exiles.  Macdonald says "...with Crave she made another jump forward into an abstraction of character, and with 4.48 Psychosis she realised she could go further- beyond Beckett even". Quote from Saunders´ book.

Vicky Featherstone

Director of Crave. Artistic Director of Paines Plough, her theatre work includes Berkoff´s Kvetch and Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie. She says of Kane "She was such a fantastic person to have around. We'd sit in my office and just talk for hours. She was somebody who was constantly feeding her mind".  Quote from Lyn Gardner in the Guardian, 12 May 1999.  Pphoto by Eddie Mulholland from Marie Claire magazine.

Stephen Daldry

Former Artistic Director at the Royal Court. He gave Sarah Kane her break, and was always a champion of her work. He directed the long running An Inspector Calls for the National Theatre, as well as Caryl Churchill's last work Far Away. He has moved into film directing with Billy Elliott.

Vince O'Connell

He directed the television play Skin. Kane previously acted in his play Work. Blasted is dedicated "For Vince O'Connell with thanks" and Phaedra's Love includes grateful thanks to him.

Lisa Rothschiller

Director of the American premieres of Phaedra's Love and Cleansed. Other work includes Caryl Churchill's The Skriker. The photo shows her acting in Dracula.

Actors

Kate Ashfield

Cate in the premiere of Blasted. Other stage work includes Lulu in Shopping and F*cking and Alice in Closer, as well as work on television and film, including The War Zone directed by Tim Roth.  Her latest film is the comedy Shaun of the Dead.  She says "I remember that first meeting with Sarah, a lot of my questions were way off the mark. You know about plot, and what was happening with Cate´s brother and things like that.  And Sarah filled all of that in.  But when it came to rehearsal there were some things that were just not answered".  Quote from Saunders´ book.

Ewan Bremner

Bremner played Billy in the television film Skin. Most famous as a film actor, Trainspotting, The Acid House alongside other Kane actress Cas Harkins, Mike Leigh's Naked, Stallone´s Judge Dread, and Pearl Harbor.

Danny Cerqueira

Cerqueira played Rod in the premiere of Cleansed. He has appeared in theatre such as Musical Heaven in London.

Ingrid Craigie

Craigie played M in the premiere of Crave. Film work includes John Huston's The Dead, and on television she has appeared in Ballykissangel.

James Cunningham

Cunningham played Carl in the premiere of Cleansed.

Catherine Cusack

Strophe in the premiere of Phaedra's Love, directed by Sarah Kane. She is a television actress, having been in the regular cast of the British soaps Coronation Street and Ballykissangel. Born in London in 1969, she is the daughter of Cyril Cusack.

Pip Donaghy

He played Ian in the premiere of Blasted. He is a theatre actor with a large range (Claudius in Hamlet) who works occasionally on television (The Invisible Man, Killing Time).

Sharon Duncan-Brewster

She played C in the premiere of Crave. Other theatre work includes Rebecca Prichard's Yard Gal. She is best known for her role in Bad Girls.

Daniel Evans

Evans played Robin in the premiere of Cleansed and was also in the premiere of 4.48 Psychosis. As well as the Royal Court, he has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.  Evans says of 4.4 Psychosis "...we were all the same person, which is pretty unique in theatre, every night... and although we start and end up at the same place, you don't have any eye contact with each other... it wasn't allowed".  Quote from Saunders´ book.

Cas Harkins

Harkins was Hippolytus in the premiere of Phaedra's Love, directed by Sarah Kane. He has worked for the Travise Theatre (Shetland Saga) and minor work for film (Irvine Welsh's The Acid House).

Victoria Harwood

Harwood played the woman in the premiere of Cleansed.

Paul Thomas Hickey

B in the premiere of Crave. Other theatre work includes playing Jesus in A.D.

Dermot Kerrigan

The soldier in Blasted. His biography reads "Born in Kildare the eldest from a long line of horse thieves, Dermot had a successful though tragically brief career in the pornographic film industry. Following a painful operation, be became a straight actor and has since appeared on stage for the RSC and Royal Court, on TV in "Sex, Chips & Rock n Roll" and on film in "Waking Ned" to name a few. When not working he likes to spend time peacefully breeding armadillos and pursuing his keen interest in strong drink."

Martin Marquez

Marquez played Graham in the premiere of Cleansed. He is a television actor, appearing as a regular in the British police series The Bill and later Hotel Babylon.

Jo McInnes

McInnes played in the premiere of 4.48 Psychosis. Other theatre work includes Uncle Vanya and The Herbal Bed. She is best known in the television series Playing the Field. Born 1969.

Stuart McQuarrie

McQuarrie played Tinker in the premiere of Cleansed.  McQuarrie says "[to do the amputations] I pulled sections of his cuff off, as if I'd ripped sections of his hands away- and attached to his cuffs was red silk material".  Quote from Saunders´ book.

Madeleine Potter

Potter played in the premiere of 4.48 Psychosis. Her work in films include the two Merchant-Ivory films of Henry James novels The Bostonians and The Golden Bowl.

Marcia Rose

Rose played Marcia in the television film Skin.

Suzan Sylvester

She was Grace in the premiere of Cleansed. While she was injured, Sarah Kane took over the role. In 1988 she won the Olivier award for the most promising newcomer to theatre, for her role in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge. Other work includes Tis Pity She's a Whore with Rupert Graves.

Alan Williams

Williams played A in the premiere of Crave.

Phillipa Williams

Phaedra in the premiere of Phaedra's Love, directed by Sarah Kane.

Playwrights

Howard Barker

Author of Victory and Scenes from an Execution. His work is often called the Theatre of Catastrophe. Kane acted in his play Victory. Born 1946 in Dulwich, Great Britain.

Edward Bond

Bond's works include Saved which was savaged in the same way as Kane's work would be attacked by critics. Other works include Lear, Restoration and The War Plays. Bond stood up for Kane when she was under attack.  On Saved Bond says "Clearly the stoning to death of a baby in a London park is a typical English understatement.  Compared to the ´strategic´ bombing of cities it is a negligible atrocity".

Caryl Churchill

A leading playwright with major critical and commercial successes such as Top Girls and Serious Money. Works such as The Skriker, Mouthful of Birds and Far Away are highly experimental and highly gifted. Kane directed a version of Top Girls. Born 1938 in London, she moved to Canada as a child, then returned to Britain. She started with radio plays.

Martin Crimp

Author of Attempts on Her Life, which Sarah Kane admired. His other work includes The Country which featured Juliet Stevenson, a translation of Ionesco´s The Chairs and Moliere´s Misanthrope. His works are regularly performed at the Royal Court theatre. Born 1956.

"The treatment was wild, children. It could take place at any time of the day or night. In any part of the city. In any part of her body. Her body became the city. The doctor learned how to unfold her - like a map. Until one day the bright young girl decided the treatment would have to end - because the more medicine she took, the more medicine she craved - and besides, she was leaving the country."

David Greig

Sarah Kane's flatmate for a period. He provides the introduction for The Complete Works. His own plays include Casanova, Victoria and his Bosnian refugee play Europe. He won the John Whiting award for New Theatre Writing in 2000. Born in Edinburgh in 1972 and studied at Bristol University. He co-founded the Scottish theatre company Suspect Culture.

Joanna Laurens

Her first play The Three Birds earned her the most promising playwright award. She was a student, at Queens University Belfast, when it was staged. Her next plays were Five Gold Rings and the short Poor Beck.

Joan Littlewood

Author of the musical Oh What a Lovely War. Born 1914, in 1934 she helped set up the Theatre of Action and in 1945 set up the Theatre Workshop. Kane directed a version of Oh What a Lovely War.

Clare McIntyre

Author of Low Level Panic, The Thickness of Skin as well as an adaptation of The Changeling. Kane directed a version of Low Level Panic. She has played minor roles in films such as A Fish Called Wanda and Plenty.

"The thing that's very rewarding is when you've written something and you go and see it performed and the audience engages with it and they're full of it and they want to talk about it and it's obviously making them think".  Quite from Rage and Reason by Heidi Stephenson and Natasha Langridge.

Harold Pinter

A major British dramatist. Writer of plays such as Betrayal, The Homecoming and later works such as Mountain Language and No Mans Land. He has also written film scripts including The Servant, The French Lieutenants Woman and The Comfort of Strangers. He recognised Kane's ability immediately and supported her when she was being heavily attacked by the press. His play Ashes to Ashes has some similarities with Blasted. Born 1930, he went to the same school as Steven Berkoff, and is marred to writer Lady Antonia Fraser.  Photo by Jill Furmanovsky from cover of Ashes to Ashes.

Rebecca Prichard

Author of Yard Gal, for which she won the "most promising playwright" award.

Mark Ravenhill

Ravenhill´s Shopping and F*cking was produced in the Royal Court soon after Kane's Blasted. Born in Sussex in 1966.

Jeremy Wheeler

Author of Mad which influenced Sarah Kane "the only piece of theatre to have changed my life".

Critics, writers, agents

Mel Kenyon

Agent of Sarah Kane. She is also the agent of Mark Ravenhill and David Greig. The book Phaedra's Love is dedicated "grateful thanks to ...Mel Kenyon... without whose support I could not have written the play" and Crave has "thanks to... Mel Kenyon...".

"Did Kenyon worry that Kane's writing might harm her? "The only thing I ever wondered about was whether the connection made with the outer world was becoming less and less, and therefore she was having to dig deeper and deeper to create. There were times when I wanted her to embrace doing an adaptation or something, just so that she'd relieve herself of the need to go further inside." Quote from The Guardian 1 Jul 2000, by Simon Hattenstone.

Graham Saunders

Author of the first book devoted to the works of Sarah Kane, Love Me or Kill Me.  He is a lecturer in Theatre Studies at the University of the West of England.

Aleks Sierz

Theatre critic for the Tribune and champion of In-Yer-Face theatre. His book on the subject includes the first detailed analysis of Kane's work.

Michael Billington

Theatre critic for the Guardian. "The Guardian's Michael Billington knows that he is one of the critics that most upset Kane. She wrote to him and told him so. Well before she died, Billington had bravely and honestly recanted; what he once called puerile tosh, he had come to realise was a work of "moral seriousness". Today, Billington speaks with regret of his ebullient hatchet job: "I just regret we never had a chance for a rapprochement, or for me to say to her face what I'd said in the letter. 'I got your play wrong.' "  Qquote from article by Simon Hattenstone, Guardian 1 Jul 2000.

Jack Tinker

1938-1996. A critic for the Daily Mail newspaper in Britain. He became famous for his attack on Blasted "...utterly disgusted...no bounds of decency... utterly without artistic merit...", which led to Kane naming one of the characters in Cleansed after him. Tinker says "if you work for a paper which sells up to 3 million copies, you have to make it exciting and readable".  Compare that with another quote by him "if you call something out of tune with the drift of theatre, if you're constantly putting down vibrant new talent, first of all your public will find out and then your editor will find out".  Quoted in Kalina Stefanova´s Who Keeps the Score on the London Stage.

Theatres and companies

Royal Court Theatre

Blasted, Cleansed and 4.48 Psychosis premiered at the Royal Court Theatre.

"The Royal Court is a leading force in world theatre, producing new plays of the highest quality, encouraging writers across society, and addressing the problems and possibilities of our time. The Royal Court Theatre is Britain's only national company dedicated to new work by innovative writers from the UK and around the world."

As well as Sarah Kane, The Royal Court has premiered works by Beckett, Caryl Churchill and Athol Fugard. There are two theatres in the building, Upstairs and Downstairs. Writers can submit scripts to The Royal Court.

Gate Theatre

The Gate Theatre premiered Phaedra's Love. A small theatre in North London.

Paines Plough

Kane was a writer in residence at Paines Plough who premiered Crave.

"Paines Plough believes the playwright's voice is at the centre of contemporary theatre and works with new and experienced writers. We develop new work with a programme of workshops and readings and we provide the support and inspiration for commissioned writers to push themselves and challenge their craft. We aim to produce the most ambitious and challenging of new theatre writing."

Aimed at stimulating new writing. The current artistic director is Vicky Featherstone. Other writers supported by Paines Plough include David Greig. UK writers can submit scripts to Paines Plough.

Bridewell Theatre

During the lunchtime readings at the Bridewell, Kane presented and developed Crave.

"The Bridewell's aim is twofold: to create a centre of excellence for the development of music theatre and to provide an independent off-West End venue for the City of London. In this unique theatre space we present a year-round programme of evening music theatre and drama, and a lunchtime programme of short shows and workshops which can be enjoyed by local workers during their lunch hour."