sarah kane plays

	1995 Blasted
	Blasted shook London´s theatre world with critics unable to handle its violence and energy ("a disgusting piece of filth"). James Macdonald, the producer, says "a short run meant Blasted was seen by not many more than 1,000 people, making it perhaps the least seen and most talked-about play in recent memory. Meanwhile, lying low in Brixton, Sarah received a surprise delivery at 3pm one afternoon. A fan letter from Harold Pinter. Had he popped down to deliver it himself, she wondered, or was it a lackey in shades and gloves". In the bedroom of a hotel room Ian, an obnoxious businessman, has Cate for the night. She is down-to-earth and unused to luxury. Then the soldier enters. The hotel is in a Bosnian Leeds and the events that follow reflect the pain and suffering that Bosnia endured. Kane uses the viewpoints of both oppressor and victim. Death. Not being/ you fall asleep then you wake up His mother´s a lesbos, am I not preferable to that/ perhaps she´s a nice person Give us a cig/ why?/ Cause I got a gun and you haven´t No God/ Got to be something/ Why?/ Doesn´t make sense otherwise/ Doesn´t make sense anyway Blasted premiered at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London on 12 January 1995. Directed by James Macdonald with Pip Donaghy as Ian, Kate Ashfield as Cate and Dermot Kerrigan as the soldier. A previous version, from 1993, covered the first half of the final version and had a student performance. Kane says "acts of violence simply happen in life, they don't have a dramatic build-up and they are horrible. That is how it is in the play". Compare the criticism of the play with criticism of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler "a bad escape of moral sewage-gas... the foulest passions of humanity" (quoted in the introduction, Ibsen Plays Two, Metheun).
	1996 Phaedra´s Love
	Kane adapts and directs the classical story Phaedra by Seneca. Have you ever thought, thought your heart would break? Wished you could cut open your chest tear it out to stop the pain? Why don´t you riot like everyone else/ I don´t care Life´s too long You can have any man you want/ I want him/ except him Always suspected the world didn´t smell of fresh paint and flower/ smells of piss and human sweat If there could have been more moments like this Phaedra´s Love premiered at the Gate Theatre, London on 15 May 1996. Directed by Sarah Kane with Cas Harkins as Hippolytus and Phillipa Williams as Phaedra and Catherine Cusack as Strophe. In Kane´s direction the actors walk among the audience who are seated on the ground.
	1997 Skin
	A ten minute television script written by Kane. A skinhead, Billy, comes in contact with a black girl. One of them is a victim. Written in 1995. Wanna get yourself sorted, Billyboy I do hope you are not turning into a vegetarian You never touched a black woman before? / Only with a baseball bat Nothing of you / You bruise easy First broadcast on 17 June 1997 for British Channel 4. Ewan Bremner plays Billy and Marcia Rose plays the black girl Marcia. The director was Vincent O´Connell.
	1998 Cleansed
	Cleansed is set in a university/concentration camp with episodes in the white room (the sanatorium), the red room (sports hall), the black room (the showers/peep booth) etc. Life is sweet I´ll do my best, moment to moment, not to betray you Rod not me more like me than I ever was Love me or kill me, Graham I won´t turn away from you If you could change one thing in your life what would you change? / My life Lots of people know me, they´re not in love with me and the rats eat my face Gagging for it/ Begging for it/ Barking for it/ Arching for it/ Aching for it Cleansed premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London on 30 April 1998. Directed by James Macdonald. The roles were performed by Martin Marquez, Stuart McQuarrie, James Cunningham, Danny Cerqueira, Suzan Sylvester, Daniel Evans and Victoria Harwood. Kane says "almost every line in Cleansed has more than one meaning... I wanted to stretch the theatrical language". For a detailed analysis of Cleansed click here.
	1998 Crave
	Because of the critical furore from Blasted, Kane´s next play was initially presented under the name Marie Kelvedon. Four people sit on chairs facing the audience and talk to the audience separately. He´s following me... He needs to have a secret but he can´t help telling The heat is going out of me/ The heart is going out of me And though she cannot remember she cannot forget Clutching a fistful of sand What ties me to you is guilt I crossed two rivers and wept by one I am the beast at the end of the rope Happy and free Crave premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh on 13 August 1998. Directed by Vicky Featherstone with the four roles, C, M, B and A played by Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Ingrid Craigie, Paul Thomas Hickey and Alan Williams. A previous version was given as a staged reading "by accident to fill a gap in a rehearsed reading season set up by Paines Plough". Kane says " I think of it more as text for performance than as a play" and "I wanted to find out how good a poet I could be while still writing something dramatic".
	2000 4.48 Psychosis
	4.48 is the time most suicides take place. A haunting play, performed after Kane´s death. who took the piss when I shaved my head, who lied and said it was nice to see me. Who lied. And said it was nice to see me Your truth, your lies, not mine Nothing can extinguish my anger I just hope to God that death is the fucking end corrosive doubt I dreamt went to the doctor´s and she gave me eight minutes to live. I´d been sitting in the fucking waiting room half an hour It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London on 23 June 2000. Directed by James Macdonald with Daniel Evans, Jo McInnes and Madeleine Potter. For a detailed analysis of 4.48 Psychosis click here.