(seen at the afternoon performance on 19th August 2026)
One hundred unique Kane minutes, as she explores what theatre can do if you switch off every safety catch and convention.
Director Rebecca Frecknall gives us “Cleansed” without a hint of fashionable over-protectiveness. Indeed, today’s techniques and effects energise this 1998 work.
As usual, Kane’s writing is open to all interpretations. “Cleansed” considers love, control, punishment, betrayal and most of all the world of mental illness and the lack of defined solutions for easing pain.
The simplest is aggression and violence, and Kane take this as her theme.
We begin with aptly named “not a doctor” Tinker (Leo Bill) injecting narcotics into addict Graham’s (Jack Riddiford) eye, killing him.
He denies Grace (Pearl Chandra) access to her brother’s body. She strips inmate Robin (Stuart Thompson) of her late brother’s clothes. Graham returns, in her mind at least.
Gay couple Rod (Parth Thakerar) and Carl (Luke Cinque-White) are tortured by their love and by Tinker.
Tinker himself is obsessed with peepshow Woman (Lizzy Connolly), but proves he cannot process nor sustain his own relationships – in a world where he purports to be judge of all.
Madeleine Girling creates a grey half-windowed institute, an impressive coup d ’theatre opening up further the disturbing fantasy.
Lee Curran literally heats the final scene with a barrage of lightbulbs toasting the front rows.
Underlying, Angus MacRae’s choices of classical and modern music, The Kink’s “Days” particularly haunting, is well selected and timed to heighten tensions or mock proceedings.
The violent moments are dripping blood. The intense psychological moments pulp our self-assurances.
Hundreds of ideas and opportunities for interpretation are planted with every scene. Most of all, they critique a system which fails – and continues to fail.
It takes time to reason from the production clues Sarah Kane plants as to why. Every second spent doing so, though, is rewarded.
Pretty much immaculate, soul-destroying and indeed cleansed of what we think we know about the emotional struggles we all hide.
5 stars.