Product Description

In 1995 Sarah Kane's first full-length play Blasted opened. It became the cause celebre of the theatrical year, making front-page headlines and outraging critics with its depiction of rape, torture and violence in civil war. "sheer unadulterated brutalism" Evening Standard

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #71399 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 61 pages

Review
'Kane wrote simply and starkly about the world she saw around her...a mature and vividly theatrical response to the pain of living' Guardian; 'I do not think I've yet seen a play that can beat Sarah Kane's sustained onslaught on the sensibilities for sheer, unadulterated brutalism' Evening Standard

About the Author
Sarah Kane studied at Bristol and Birmingham universities. Recognised as a highly influential new vo ice in European theatre, her work was championed by the Royal Court. She died in February 1999, aged 28.

Customer Reviews

Not for the light hearted.
This contains the dark provacative illustration of love. The scene is based in a Hotel room. There are various violent moments including rapes,alcoholism, cannabilsm, mental and emotional rollercoaster rides.This play has sickened many viewers who had watched the play or have studied this in education.Shocking as it maybe it does however provide insight to the reality of wars and what have taken place. It also portrays loyalty, insecurity and endurance. It is a great play to critically analyse and with great depth. Beneath the shock is more than you had bargained. It is best to keep an open mind before making any immediate judgements. The play is highly commendable as it should be.

astonishing, brutal and full of emotions
Ten years on the dust about the "in-yer-face" theatre had been settled. Blasted was the first in a serious of sexual and violent plays. The play was a slap in the face for the everyday audience in the nineties.
The play takes place in a hotel room in Leeds where Cate and Ian stop for a night. Ian is a tabloid reporter with a rude manner. He drinks to much and smoke to many fags. Cate is a serious, shy and young woman with fits during the play. They talk about Ian's health problems and Cate's life. Ian abuses Cate later, this takes place in the off. As the soldier enters, Ian got raped by the soldier. The torture for the audience continues as the play goes on. Ian eats a dead baby and Cate got raped for bread and a bottle of gin at the end.
Sarah Kane showed how the atrocities of war have a connection with the daily behaviour to each other. A child abuse and the raping of a woman have the same defects to the soul on a lower level. The play is a mixture of emotional and physical violence. This makes the play very unbearable for the audience. Cate is the only light in the play. She has a religious belief after all and she is showing her social care as she feeds the blind Ian in the last scene.

'Blasted' is one way of putting it..
Throughout Kane's brief career, her theatrical works were heavily criticised for being inhuman, crude and downright nasty. Reading 'Blasted' with this bias in mind, it is easy to label the script as intolerable, with its consistent expletives, references to rape, defacation, brutality, sodomy and cannibalism.
However, read with an open mind and dismiss the opinions of these narrow minded judges of the mid nineties. Believe me, 'they know not what they say'. Sarah Kane's 'Blasted' holds an almost magnetic power that prevents the reader from putting the book down. Her characters, the sadistic Ian, the naive Cate and the unknown terrifying figure of the soldier are all painful in their intensity of portrayal, and the brutality is all necessary in conveying the sense of hopelessness and despair. It is a play designed to reflect upon our era, it is relevant, and in places it is even witty. What more could one ask from a script?