The Brutality of Redemption

Blasted at Soho Rep. Reed Birney and Marin Ireland. Courtesy Simon Kane Photography.

Blasted, by Sarah Kane, directed by Sarah Benson, Soho Repertory Theatre, New York, October 2–November 11, 2008.

Like her fellow countryman Joe Orton, Sarah Kane is a twentiethcentury dramatist whose repertoire is unfortunately limited given her untimely and tragic death. Blasted, the first of her five works, was originally performed at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 1995, four years prior to Kane’s suicide. It is a play rich with grotesque cruelty in the form of torture, sodomy, masturbation, corpses (most particularly that of an infant child), and overt sexual abuse. The play begins as a disturbing piece of realism before morphing into an expressionist nightmare: an unspecified explosion turns a posh hotel room in Leeds into a wasteland located in the middle of war, with an M16-wielding soldier holding an English journalist hostage while committing acts of torture upon him. The soldier’s actions are somewhat palatable only because he was earlier established as a racist and sexual predator whose victim is a young woman. Although Blasted’s dramatic structure can seem jarring because of the abrupt change of styles, it is effectively disturbing in addressing issues of gender and violence. Moreover, Kane’s theatre of cruelty demonstrates a unique ability to delve into the most horrid depths of the human psyche.

Because Sarah Kane’s plays are so closely guarded by her estate they are rarely produced, which explains in part, why it has taken nine years for a New York premiere of Blasted. The initial performance was worth the wait, however, as the Soho Repertory Theatre recently opened a stunning production under the direction of Sarah Benson. The gifted cast depicts the drama’s horror by taking risks in their commitment to its demands. Each of the three actors (Reed Birney as Ian, Marin Ireland as Cate, Louis Cancelmi as the Soldier) arrive at their roles with specificity—from their varied dialects to the veracity they bring to the extremity of the plot’s given circumstances—as every moment is textured with care and precision, thereby creating an ensembleoriented performance that establishes the play’s despair and its corresponding impact on the audience. Whether it was anal-rape, fellatio, or the cannibalizing of

Blasted at Soho Rep, Reed Birney and Marin Ireland. Photos: Courtesy Simon Kane Photography.

Blasted at Soho Rep, Louis Cancelmi and Reed Birney. Photos: Courtesy Simon Kane Photography.

an infant, Blasted is filled with unusual aggression and sexuality, requiring mutual trust between the actors and the audience, which was apparent the night I saw the production.

Of the play’s numerous acting challenges, perhaps the most noteworthy one is to adequately transition from the realistic style of its first part to its subsequent expressionistic structure. Prior to the explosion that sends the play into an unspecified war zone, the action remains life-like in its naturalistic setting, as the characters exchange conversational dialogue that stems from psychological needs. Birney and Ireland masterfully use Laura Thompson’s set, most especially the king-sized bed anchoring her ground plan, to portray the story of a middle-aged man preying upon a young woman. From their joint entrance at the outset both Birney and Ireland capture and sustain the subtleties comprising their codependent relationship. Despite Ian’s emotional and physical abuse, Cate, who shares a sexual history with him, on some level thinks she needs Ian, which explains why she continues to remain connected to him. She is not entirely a victim, however, as she has chosen to meet Ian at the hotel room, presumably aware of his abusive behavior, and forgoes several chances to leave while reluctantly satisfying his carnal desires. Perhaps this is Kane’s attempt to explore the complicated nature of patriarchal sex abuse. As such, Birney and Ireland craft their performances with the sort of nuance that realistic acting requires: their characters are neither villainous nor empathetic, but fully fleshed...