Blasted
Encyclopedia
Blasted is the first play by British author Sarah Kane
. It was first performed in 1995 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London. This performance was highly controversial and the play was fiercely attacked by most newspaper critics, many of whom regarded it as a rather immature attempt to shock the audience. However, critics have subsequently reassessed it; for example The Guardian
s Michael Billington
, who savaged the play in his first review, later recanted in the wake of Kane's suicide: "I got it wrong, as I keep saying. She was a major talent. Apparently, Harold Pinter
said at her memorial service that she was a poet, and I think that's dead right." After seeing a revival of the play, an Evening Standard
reviewer wrote "How shrill and silly the 1995 hullabaloo and hysteria seemed last night when Blasted returned to the Royal Court. It is, and always was, a play with a fine, moral purpose."
Scene 2 begins the next morning. Ian rapes Cate during one of her fits. She attacks him and then escapes through the bathroom window. Then, unexpectedly, a soldier enters the room brandishing a gun. The hotel room is then struck by a mortar bomb, and the scene ends with the sound of summer rain.
In Scene 3, the hotel room is in ruins; the bomb has blasted a hole in the wall. The soldier and Ian begin to talk, and it is gradually revealed that the hotel is located in the midst of a brutal war. The soldier tells Ian about appalling atrocities that he has witnessed and taken part in, involving rape, torture and genocide, and says he has done everything as an act of revenge for the murder of his girlfriend. He then rapes Ian, and sucks out his eyes. The scene ends with the sound of autumn rain.
In Scene 4, Ian lies blinded next to the soldier, who has committed suicide. Cate returns, describing the city being overrun by soldiers, and bringing with her a baby that she has rescued. The baby dies, and she buries it in a hole in the floorboards and leaves, but not before arguing with Ian about the utility or futility of praying during a burial. The scene ends with the sound of heavy winter rain.
Scene 5 consists of a series of brief images, showing Ian crying, masturbating and even hugging the dead soldier for comfort as he starves in the ruined room. Eventually, he crawls into the hole with the dead baby and eats it. The stage direction then reads that Ian dies. It starts raining, and Ian says "Shit". Cate returns, bringing a sausage that she has paid for by having sex with the soldiers outside. She eats and hand-feeds the rest of her meal to Ian, who says: "Thank you."
)
- The first reading of what was set to become Blasted.
1995 - Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, UK (dir. James MacDonald
)
- The premier which prompted headlines labelling the play a "disgusting feast of filth”
1997 - Teatro della Limonania, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, It
- The first Italian appearance of the play.
2001 - Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, London, UK (dir.James MacDonald
)
- The Royal Court revival which cemented its place in dramatic history.
2005 - Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, Berlin, Germany (dir. Thomas Ostermeier). This production also toured to London's Barbican Theatre for its 2006-2007 BITE season.
2008 - Queens Hotel
, Leeds, UK (dir. Felix Mortimer)
- Produced in its authentic setting, this production saw the audience invited into the hotel room Kane set the play within.
2008 - Soho Rep, New York, NY, USA (dir. Sarah Benson
)
- The New York Premiere.
2010 - Lyric Hammersmith
, London, UK (dir. Sean Holmes
)
- A major revival of the play, 15 years on from its debut, by contemporary of Sarah Kane
and the Lyric's Artistic Director Sean Holmes
starring Danny Webb
and Lydia Wilson
. The production won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre.
Sarah Kane
Sarah Kane was an English playwright. Her plays deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture — both physical and psychological — and death. They are characterised by a poetic intensity, pared-down language, exploration of theatrical form and, in her earlier work, the use of...
. It was first performed in 1995 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London. This performance was highly controversial and the play was fiercely attacked by most newspaper critics, many of whom regarded it as a rather immature attempt to shock the audience. However, critics have subsequently reassessed it; for example The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Michael Billington
Michael Billington (critic)
Michael Keith Billington is a British author and arts critic. Drama critic of The Guardian since October 1971, he is "Britain's longest-serving theatre critic" and the author of biographical and critical studies relating to British theatre and the arts; most notably, he is the authorised...
, who savaged the play in his first review, later recanted in the wake of Kane's suicide: "I got it wrong, as I keep saying. She was a major talent. Apparently, Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
said at her memorial service that she was a poet, and I think that's dead right." After seeing a revival of the play, an Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
reviewer wrote "How shrill and silly the 1995 hullabaloo and hysteria seemed last night when Blasted returned to the Royal Court. It is, and always was, a play with a fine, moral purpose."
Synopsis
The play is set in an expensive hotel room in Leeds. Ian, a foul-mouthed middle-aged tabloid journalist has brought a young woman, Cate, to the room for the night. Cate is much younger than Ian, emotionally fragile, and seemingly intellectually simple. Throughout Scene 1, Ian tries to seduce Cate, but she resists. All the while, Ian proudly parades his misogyny, racism and homophobia. The scene ends with the sound of spring rain.Scene 2 begins the next morning. Ian rapes Cate during one of her fits. She attacks him and then escapes through the bathroom window. Then, unexpectedly, a soldier enters the room brandishing a gun. The hotel room is then struck by a mortar bomb, and the scene ends with the sound of summer rain.
In Scene 3, the hotel room is in ruins; the bomb has blasted a hole in the wall. The soldier and Ian begin to talk, and it is gradually revealed that the hotel is located in the midst of a brutal war. The soldier tells Ian about appalling atrocities that he has witnessed and taken part in, involving rape, torture and genocide, and says he has done everything as an act of revenge for the murder of his girlfriend. He then rapes Ian, and sucks out his eyes. The scene ends with the sound of autumn rain.
In Scene 4, Ian lies blinded next to the soldier, who has committed suicide. Cate returns, describing the city being overrun by soldiers, and bringing with her a baby that she has rescued. The baby dies, and she buries it in a hole in the floorboards and leaves, but not before arguing with Ian about the utility or futility of praying during a burial. The scene ends with the sound of heavy winter rain.
Scene 5 consists of a series of brief images, showing Ian crying, masturbating and even hugging the dead soldier for comfort as he starves in the ruined room. Eventually, he crawls into the hole with the dead baby and eats it. The stage direction then reads that Ian dies. It starts raining, and Ian says "Shit". Cate returns, bringing a sausage that she has paid for by having sex with the soldiers outside. She eats and hand-feeds the rest of her meal to Ian, who says: "Thank you."
Notable Productions
1993 - Birmingham University Reading, Birmingham, UK (dir. Sarah KaneSarah Kane
Sarah Kane was an English playwright. Her plays deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture — both physical and psychological — and death. They are characterised by a poetic intensity, pared-down language, exploration of theatrical form and, in her earlier work, the use of...
)
- The first reading of what was set to become Blasted.
1995 - Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, UK (dir. James MacDonald
James MacDonald
-Politics:*James David Macdonald , City of Calgary alderman and author of Grand Cayman's tax haven law*James Ramsay MacDonald, British Prime Minister*James MacDonald , Secretary of the London Trades Council...
)
- The premier which prompted headlines labelling the play a "disgusting feast of filth”
1997 - Teatro della Limonania, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, It
- The first Italian appearance of the play.
2001 - Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, London, UK (dir.James MacDonald
James MacDonald
-Politics:*James David Macdonald , City of Calgary alderman and author of Grand Cayman's tax haven law*James Ramsay MacDonald, British Prime Minister*James MacDonald , Secretary of the London Trades Council...
)
- The Royal Court revival which cemented its place in dramatic history.
2005 - Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, Berlin, Germany (dir. Thomas Ostermeier). This production also toured to London's Barbican Theatre for its 2006-2007 BITE season.
2008 - Queens Hotel
Queens Hotel (Leeds)
Queens Hotel is a hotel owned by Quintessential Hotels, located on Leeds City Square in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.It is an elegant Art Deco Grade II listed building. It was constructed in 1937 by architects W.Curtis Green and W.H. Hamlyn for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway...
, Leeds, UK (dir. Felix Mortimer)
- Produced in its authentic setting, this production saw the audience invited into the hotel room Kane set the play within.
2008 - Soho Rep, New York, NY, USA (dir. Sarah Benson
Sarah Benson
Sarah Benson is a British theater director based in New York City. She became Artistic Director of Soho Repertory Theater, Inc in 2006. She is the fourth artistic director at Soho Rep....
)
- The New York Premiere.
2010 - Lyric Hammersmith
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
, London, UK (dir. Sean Holmes
Sean Holmes
Sean Holmes is a British theatre director and, from spring 2009, artistic director of London’s Lyric Hammersmith.-Early career:Sean Holmes took a masters degree at King's College, London and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in text and performance...
)
- A major revival of the play, 15 years on from its debut, by contemporary of Sarah Kane
Sarah Kane
Sarah Kane was an English playwright. Her plays deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture — both physical and psychological — and death. They are characterised by a poetic intensity, pared-down language, exploration of theatrical form and, in her earlier work, the use of...
and the Lyric's Artistic Director Sean Holmes
Sean Holmes
Sean Holmes is a British theatre director and, from spring 2009, artistic director of London’s Lyric Hammersmith.-Early career:Sean Holmes took a masters degree at King's College, London and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in text and performance...
starring Danny Webb
Danny Webb (actor)
Danny Webb is a British television and film actor. He may be best known for his role as the prisoner Morse in Alien 3. He has appeared in many famous British television programmes including The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Emmerdale Farm, Our Friends in the North, A Touch of Frost, Agatha...
and Lydia Wilson
Lydia Wilson
Lydia Wilson is a British actress. Since graduating in 2009 from RADA she has performed in numerous television and theatre productions including the Olivier Award winning Blasted by Sarah Kane in 2010 at the Lyric Theatre....
. The production won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre.