From Hope To Despair:An Interpretation Of Sarah Kane’s Plays

As one of the most excellent playwrights in the West at the end of 20th century,Sarah Kane herself and her five works are quite controversial.It was just several years from her first play Blasted debuted at the Royal Court Theater in 1995 to her last work 4.48 Psychosis published,which caused much attention in the British drama world at that time.Her plays differ from traditional theatres for her bold exploration of violence,sex,killing and mental breakdown.But what is worth noting is her persistent pursuit of love and honesty,which is throughout all her playsIn order to explore Sarah Kane’s outlook on life,which is more or less reflected through her creation,this essay tries to analyze her five plays in details.In the process of analysis,some related theories of postmodern theatre will be helpful for understanding Kane’s works.Influenced by the postmodern philosophical thoughts,postmodern theatre opposes all the conventions and established structures and even the theatre itself.Postmodern playwrights believe that there is no ultimate value in the theatre.The true theatre hould be full of multiplicities through presenting the disappearance of the concept of time and space and a kind of disordered consciousness,the purpose of which is to contempt and challenge the tradition and authority.And this is what Kane has always been committed to.Just like Antonin Artaud and Bertolt Brecht,Kane attempts to deconstruct the established norms to break the theatrical illusion and make the audience realize the falsehood of reality and discover their true self,thus better coping with lifeBy analyzing the language,structure,and character shaping in Kane’s plays,love and hope behind violence in Blasted,the taboo love and loneliness in Phadera’s Love and Cleansed,and despair in love and ultimate spiritual breakdown in Crave and 4.48 Psychosis are apparently manifested.Kane interprets the world she sees through her works of violence and fragmented language,the chaotic and intertwined storyline,and the images of the characters who are looking for love in despair.The real world is full of extreme cruelty and violence,and Kane has been trying to find a way out to hope and light.