Sarah Kane: Complete Plays [Paperback]

Sarah Kane (Author)

Book Description

Series: Contemporary Dramatists | Publication Date: May 1, 2001

When Sarah Kane's first play Blasted was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in 1995 it was hailed both as a "masterpiece" and as a "disgusting piece of filth" (Daily Mail). That play, and the others that followed, have been produced all over the world. This anthology includes Kane's never-before-published Channel 4 screenplay, Skin.

Plays include: Blasted, Phaedra's Love, Cleansed, Crave, 4.48 Psychosis, and Skin.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sarah Kane, a provocative playwright whose bleak view of the limitations of human relationships and graphic dramatizations of violence and sex earned her a reputation as an enfant terrible of the British theater...Blasted immediately established her as an important voice in modern playwriting."—The New York Times

 

"Kane wrote simply and starkly about the world she saw around her…a mature and vividly theatrical response to the pain of living."—Guardian

 

"Shocking and revelatory."—New York Magazine (Blasted review)

 

"As compact and beautiful as a diamond in structure—and yet the mood it inspires is as black as coal."—Time Out (4.48 Psychosis review)

 

"A hugely unnerving theatrical experience, shot through with the language of the Bible and a genuinesly poetic richness."—Time Out (Crave review)

 

"The writing has an almost unparalleled distiled intensity which is often unbearable to watch...To some it will be repellent.Others will recognize it as absolute proof of the power of live theatre."—Independent  (Cleansed review)

 

"Pure theatre. Or rather, impure theatre: dirty, alarming, dangerous."—Observer (Phaedra's Love review)

 

About the Author

Sarah Kane (1971 – 1999) was an English dramatist. She is best known for the extraordinary public controversy over Blasted, her first play which, like subsequent works from her, were shocking and defining moments in theater: explosive, theatrical, lyrical and laced with emotional power and bleak humor.

Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: Methuen Drama (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0413742601
• ISBN-13: 978-0413742605
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > British & Irish

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true poet of the theatre, May 22, 2001

By 

Stephen Berwind (Toledo, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sarah Kane: Complete Plays (Paperback)

Sarah Kane's plays present the horrors which characterize the world of the late 20th century. The plays contain scenes of incredible brutality. Ordinarily, I avoid violence in books, plays and films but these plays haunt me with the beauty of their generous humanity. Her last two plays--Crave and 4:48 Psychosis are beautiful poems of hopelessness. If you are interested in contemporary theatre, YOU MUST READ SARAH KANE. The story of her life and death, while unspeakably sad, should not overshadow the extraordinary talent of this gifted writer and remarkable human being.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Traumatic, funny, devastating, May 31, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Sarah Kane: Complete Plays (Paperback)

These are the most electric scripts to arrive in a long while. Sadly, the source was snuffed in 1999. Kane's writing is at once repellent and seductive. "Blasted" is exceptional, riffing on Beckett blatantly, but still signature of a visionary voice: inyerface, exuberant, filthy, poetic, profound. As a debut, it is truly remarkable. "Phaedra's Love" and "Cleansed" push the envelope past the hyper-real into lightning-bright brilliance, and with thunderous emotional depth. How does one stage this stuff? Kane's challenging work sets the imagination--and ultimately, the soul--on fire.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just Family Fun..., November 24, 2003

By 

Margarita (Long Beach, Ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sarah Kane: Complete Plays (Paperback)

Sarah Kane is anything but family friendly. Her plays are raw, brutal, and yet beautiful in an ironic way. She takes all of the hate that exists in this world and uses it to show us the beauty that can come from the ruble of a blown up building. There is no way to actually describe Sarah Kane to you to make you want to buy her book. I was forced to buy it because of a class at my college, but I don't think I'll be selling this one back. I never thought I would enjoy a play such as Blasted. If you want to understand what my review actually means, buy the book, read a couple of her pieces and then read this again. I'm sure you will understand then.