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Blasted, Lyric Hammersmith

Blasted, Lyric Hammersmith

Naturalistic, and slow, revival of Sarah Kane’s legendary 1995 debut

by Thursday, 28 October 2010
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Hold onto me: Danny Webb and Lydia Wilson in 'Blasted'Simon Kane

If any play of the past two decades deserves the label legendary it must be Sarah Kane’s debut, which was condemned as “this disgusting feast of filth” on its arrival in 1995, but is now firmly ensconced in the canon of contemporary playwriting. Although the shock of its original production, which in retrospect simply heralded the appearance of a distinctive new voice, has led audiences to expect a similarly frightful experience every time it is revived, subsequent productions have emphasised the play’s poetry and its relevance.

If any play of the past two decades deserves the label legendary it must be Sarah Kane’s debut, which was condemned as “this disgusting feast of filth” on its arrival in 1995, but is now firmly ensconced in the canon of contemporary playwriting. Although the shock of its original production, which in retrospect simply heralded the appearance of a distinctive new voice, has led audiences to expect a similarly frightful experience every time it is revived, subsequent productions have emphasised the play’s poetry and its relevance.

A soldier has arrived, a civil war is in progress, and onstage atrocities begin to pile up as surely as corpses in any military conflict

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Submitted by Chris Devine (not verified) on Mon, 08/11/2010 - 12:47
Travelled to London to see Blasted for the first time on Thursday, hoping to be impressed. Unfortunately there was very little to be impressed about. What became abundantly clear as the evening progressed, was the unescapable conclusion that the late author Sarah Kane, was not a very talented playwright. The play fails desperately due mainly to the authors lack of maturity and very evident lack of life experience , reflected in the one demensional characters and unconvincing dialogue. No amount of foul deeds can cover an absence of ability.

Submitted by Anonymous :) (not verified) on Sun, 08/04/2012 - 22:55
Immature? There is nothing immature about showing the effects of war, this play is very current and relative and a real inside look to what, unfortunately, actually happens when humans are fighting for survival for unethical reasons, nuances of Karma and and how two unsuspecting characters are thrown into a war zone where no authority or government is going to bother saving you. It's shocking yes, but that's life and I salute Kane for having the courage to write about such conspiracy and turmoil, and passionate about making such topics and issues normally 'conversations behind closed doors' open to public speculation and realisation. :)

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