Blasted

Written by Sarah Kane
Directed: James Macdonald
Starring:Neil Dudgeon, Tom Jordan Murphy, Kelly Reilly.
Story: This play outraged many critics with its scenes of cannibalism, rape and defecation when it opened in 1995.(The playwright Sarah Kane committed suicide at the age of 28, in Feb 1999.)

BRIAN LOGAN for TIME OUT While 'Blasted' possesses qualities to admire..it demonstrates no understanding of the psychology of live performance. I can scarcely remember spending two more miserable hours." SHERIDAN MORLEY says, "The play is still a shambles, its thesis about the link between sexual and social violence wearily repeated across two hours of random obscenity." CHARLES SPENCER for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "Seeing the play six years on, there is no doubt that it is an impressive, and serious, piece of work. I still don't like it but I now admire it. BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE for THE TIMES says, "There's nothing gratuitously ugly or morbidly lingering about it. It's restrained, meticulously observant, occasionally even bleakly funny, and well acted by Ian Dudgeon." ANDREW SMITH from the OBSERVER says, "Blasted was Sarah Kane's calling card. She might do great things but she wasn't ready yet." KATE BASSETT for THE INDEPENDENT says, "Bold, bowel-churning ­ but not brilliant." JOHN THAXTER for THE STAGE says, "The first 75 minutes are crip and incisive, and if her[Kane's] writing falls away as order is destroyed by insurgents, this merely mirrors the perilous margin between civilisation and the barbarians."

(Production photos by Ivan Kyncl)