''Blasted'' is the first play by the British author

Sarah Kane Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological ...

. It was first performed in 1995 at the

Royal Court Theatre Upstairs The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Synopsis

The play is set in an expensive hotel room in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. 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 Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

. The scene ends with the sound of spring rain. Scene 2 begins the next morning. Ian engages in frottage with Cate during one of her fits. Afterwards, Cate performs

oral sex Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth). Cunnilingus is oral sex performed on the vu ...

on Ian, biting him. Cate retires to the bathroom. A soldier unexpectedly enters the room brandishing a gun, and finds Cate has escaped through the bathroom window. The hotel room is then struck by a

mortar Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

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 Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

and

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

, 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 Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. 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 Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person sexually stimulates their own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of hands, everyday objects, sex toys ...

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 sausage and

gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients. Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The modern gin was modified in Flanders and the Netherlands ...

. The blood seeping down her legs implies that she has paid for this 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

World premiere (London, 1995) 12 January 1995 at the

, London, UK.
Directed by James Macdonald. * Ian - Pip Donaghy * Cate -

Kate Ashfield Kate Ashfield (born 28 May 1972) is an English actress and screenwriter, who has appeared in stage, TV and film roles, most famously in her role as Liz in the 2004 zombie comedy '' Shaun of the Dead''. She is the co-writer of the 2017 TV series ...

* Soldier - Dermot Kerrigan The premiere which prompted headlines labelling the play a "disgusting feast of filth" Italian premiere 1997 at Teatro della Limonania, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy. The first Italian appearance of the play. 2001 London revival 2001 at the

Royal Court Theatre Downstairs The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opened in 1870; the current building was completed in 1 ...

, London, UK.
Directed by James Macdonald. * Ian -

Neil Dudgeon Neil Dudgeon (born 2 January 1961) is an English actor who, since 2010, has played DCI John Barnaby in the ITV drama series ''Midsomer Murders''. He replaced John Nettles in the lead role in 2011. Early life and education Dudgeon is the son o ...

* Cate -

Kelly Reilly Jessica Kelly Siobhán Reilly (born 18 July 1977) is an English actress. She first appeared on screen in 1995 on the series ''The Biz (TV series), The Biz''. Her other television work includes starring roles in the British crime drama ''Above S ...

* Soldier - Tom Jordan Murphy The Royal Court revival which received positive reviews. 2005-2006 German production 16th March 2005 at

Schaubühne The (Theatre on Lehniner Square) is a famous theatre in the Wilmersdorf district of Berlin, located on the Kurfürstendamm boulevard. It is a conversion of the ''Universum'' cinema, built according to plans designed by Erich Mendelsohn in 192 ...

, Berlin, Germany.
Also performed 7th-11th Nov 2006 at the

Barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

, London, UK.
Translated into German by Nils Tabert. Performed under the title of ''Zerbombt''.
Directed by

Thomas Ostermeier Thomas Ostermeier (born 3 September 1968, Soltau, West Germany) is a German theatre director. He currently mainly works for the Schaubühne. Ostermeier is fluent in German, French and English. Career Ostermeier began his theatrical career in 1 ...

. * Ian -

Ulrich Mühe Friedrich Hans Ulrich Mühe (; 20 June 1953 – 22 July 2007) was a German film, television and theatre actor. He played the role of Hauptmann (Captain) Gerd Wiesler in the Academy Awards, Oscar-winning film ''Das Leben der Anderen'' (''The Live ...

* Cate -

Katharina Schüttler Katharina Schüttler (born 20 October 1979) is a German television and film actress. Her film debut was in the movie ''Die Lok'' in 1992. She is best known internationally for leading roles as Clara Rosenbaum in ''The Promise (2011 TV serial), Th ...

* Soldier -

Thomas Thieme Thomas Thieme (born 29 October 1948) is a German actor. He is considered to be a prolific stage actor and also appeared in more than 100 film and television productions since 1973. In his film and television appearances, Thieme often plays powe ...

2008 site-specific Leeds production 2008 at Queens Hotel, Leeds, UK.
Directed by Felix Mortimer. * Ian - Mark Taylor Batty * Cate - Mariel Kaplan * Soldier - Ash Layton Produced in its authentic setting, this production by 19;29 Performance saw the audience invited into the hotel room Kane set the play within. New York premiere production 2008 at the

Soho Rep The Soho Repertory Theatre, known as Soho Rep,The official website'now use "Soho", with a lowercase h, as do most articles from th''New York Times''/ref> is an American Off-Broadway theater company based in New York City which is notable for pro ...

, New York City, New York, U.S.
Directed by

Sarah Benson Sarah Benson is a British director of avant-garde theatre productions based in New York. As a Director of the Soho Rep, a lower Manhattan-based theatre company with an "audacious taste in plays", she is notable for her "commitment to adventurous ...

. * Ian -

Reed Birney Reed Birney (born September 11, 1954) is an American actor. Birney is known for his performances on stage and screen often acting on and off Broadway. Birney gained acclaim in 2016 for his role in '' The Humans'' winning the Tony Award for Best ...

* Cate -

Marin Ireland Marin Ireland (born August 30, 1979) is an American actress. Known for her work in theatre and independent films, ''The New York Times'' deemed Ireland "one of the great drama queens of the New York stage". She has received nominations for two I ...

* Soldier -

Louis Cancelmi Louis Cancelmi is an American stage and film actor. He is a frequent performer in productions by the Public Theater, both at their Astor Library home and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. He is best known for appearing in '' Boardwalk E ...

2010 London revival 2010 at

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a nonprofit theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London."About the Lyric" > "History" ''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved January 2024. Background The Lyric Theatre ...

, London, UK.
Directed by Sean Holmes. * Ian - Danny Webb * Cate -

Lydia Wilson Lydia Wilson (born 30 November 1984) is an English-American actress. Since graduating in 2009 from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she has performed in numerous television and theatre productions including the Olivier Award-winning ''Blasted' ...

* Soldier -

Aidan Kelly Aidan A. Kelly (born October 22, 1940) is an American academic, poet and influential figure in the Neopagan religion of Wicca. Having developed his own branch of the faith, the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn, during the 1960s, he w ...

A major revival of the play, 15 years on from its debut, by contemporary of

and the Lyric's Artistic Director Sean Holmes. The production won an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. 2015 Sheffield production 2015 at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 1740 and drove the industrialisation of the city. ...

, Sheffield, UK.
Directed by Richard Wilson. * Ian -

Martin Marquez Martin Joseph Marquez (born 8 October 1964) is an English actor. He is best known on television for his role as Gino Primirola, the head barman, in the British television comedy drama '' Hotel Babylon''. He also played Danny Pearce in ''The Bi ...

* Cate -

Jessica Barden Jessica Amy Barden (born 21 July 1992) is an English actress. She began her career as a child actress. She is best known for her role as Alyssa Foley in the Channel 4 comedy-drama '' The End of the F***ing World'' (2017–2019). She received a B ...

* Soldier -

Mark Stanley Mark Robert Speight, known professionally as Mark Stanley, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Game of Thrones'', '' Dickensian'', and as Rob Hepworth in the third series of BBC drama Happy Valley. Early life and educatio ...

As part of the Sarah Kane season with staged productions of ''Blasted'', ''Crave'' and ''4.48 Psychosis'' and semi-staged readings of ''Phaedra's Love'' and ''Cleansed''. 2019 Vienna production 2019 at TheaterArche,

Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

.
Directed by Tom Crawley. First original language production of the play in Austria, produced by Mental Eclipse Theater House in cooperation with Vienna theatre project.

Critical reception

The initial performance was highly controversial and the play was fiercely attacked by most newspaper critics, many of whom regarded it as an attempt to shock the audience. However, critics have subsequently reassessed it; for example ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

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 Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

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 The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' reviewer Annie Ferguson 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." It was listed in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' as one of the 40 best plays ever.

Notes

Bibliography

*Kane, Sarah, ''Sarah Kane: Complete Plays''. London: Methuen (2001), * Saunders, Graham. ''Love Me or Kill Me: Sarah Kane and the Theatre of Extremes''. Manchester, Eng.: Manchester UP, 2002. * Sierz, Aleks
"Blasted"
''The Literary Encyclopedia''. 3 June 2004. Accessed 25 Feb. 2007. (Paid subscription required for access to full article; only a portion accessible otherwise.)

External links

BBC Newsnight report on ''Blasted'' broadcast in January 1995. Hosted by Jeremy Paxman, featuring Daily Mail critic Jack Tinker and Royal Court artistic director Stephen Daldry
{{OlivierAward AffiliateTheatre Plays by Sarah Kane 1995 plays 1990s debut plays British tragedy plays Plays set in hotels Plays set in England Plays about rape Plays about suicide Plays about cannibalism Plays about prostitution