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Don't
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On
a cold February day in 1999, playwright Sarah Kane was found hanging in
a bathroom at London's King's College Hospital. It was just two days after
an earlier suicide attempt. In that moment, it seems Kane's demons finally
caught up with her. Like a flare, her career had burned brightly but was
all too quickly snuffed out. She became the Jimi Hendrix of modern British
theatre; a poet, a performer, a prophet whose words would ring long after
her passing. crack Ulead.MediaStudio.Pro.8
Sarah Kane was born in Essex in 1971. Her family was deeply religious, as was Kane in her early years - a stage she would later renounce. During her teen years, she became involved in local theatre; even playing hookey from school to get experience in a production. After matriculating, she studied at Bristol and Birmingham Universities. Although she started out intending to be an actress, she soon found herself drawn to writing. While at Birmingham, she started writing her first full length play, although she did so in secret, rather than as part of her coursework. The result was Blasted. The play was presented as the students' end of year piece and came to the attention of an agent. Blasted was performed at Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in 1995 - and the reaction was immediate. crack Ulead.MediaStudio.Pro.8
Certain critics blasted Blasted, saying (amongst other things) it was "a disgusting feast of filth" and like "having your whole head held in a bucket of offal". It seems these attacks deeply affected Kane, perhaps explaining some of her later actions.crack Ulead.MediaStudio.Pro.8
But not everyone one was negative. The grand master of the British theatre, Harold Pinter, came strongly to Kane's defence. Turning on the critics themselves, Pinter dismissed their barbs as ill-informed and suggested the play was simply too complex for them. crack Ulead.MediaStudio.Pro.8
Shows about the play appeared on British TV, and there was a spirited debate about the work, particularly evaluating Blasted by reference to the often extreme violence in Shakespeare. crack Ulead.MediaStudio.Pro.8
Despite the furore over Blasted, the Gate Theatre in London commissioned Kane to write and direct Phaedra's Love; an updated, no-punches-pulled version of the Greek myth about the love between Hippolytus and his stepmother. It was produced during 1996. The play is often regarded as Kane's weakest, perhaps explaining why the critical reaction was much more muted. crack Ulead.MediaStudio.Pro.8
Kane
then wrote Cleansed. With echoes of her own university experience, Cleansed
is set in a concentration camp-like university lorded over by a vicious
doctor and drug dealer. Its use of elements like mutilation and drug abuse
again distanced more conservative audiences. The writer even appeared
in a few performances. Dogged by her burgeoning reputation, Kane decided
to write her next play, Crave under the pseudonym of Marie Kelvedon. It
opened in 1998, and is possibly Kane's most accessible work for mainstream
audiences. A poem for four voices, Crave is often regarded by fans of
her work as her ultimate achievement.crack Ulead.MediaStudio.Pro.8
Even as Crave was receiving critical raves, Kane was checking herself into Maudsley Hospital battling depression. After her discharge, Kane turned her hand to her final work, 4.48 Psychosis. The title, almost unbearably ironic now, refers to the time at which most suicides occur. crack Ulead.MediaStudio.Pro.8
She completed the play in January 1999, but before it could be staged, Sarah Kane swallowed an overdose of sleeping pills. Her flatmate found her and rushed her to hospital. But that act of kindness extended her life by only two days. She was 28 years old. crack Ulead.MediaStudio.Pro.8
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