A review by loosegeese
4.48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane

4.0

Kane's last play is a doozie. 4.48 is supposed to be the time at which most suicides occur, and this work openly explores the experiences of a suicidal person. The work is an abstracted mindscape of an unnamed individual, disjunctive and non-linear, retaining very few of the conventions I associate with plays – three actors perform (at least three performed in the first performance listed in my copy), but no characters are given. Dialogue is, in a way, present,unattributed other than by the patterns of speech, and we observe interaction between the patient and the doctor's authority. We see a unique narrative consciousness that I think must leave the performers with so much freedom, while the tone of the work remains inevitable. It is difficult to read 4.48 Psychosis as anything but autobiographical, as Kane herself committed suicide at 28, but while the way may be a suicide note, it is anything but a cry for help. Instead, it is a unique exploration of the mind preparing for suicide, presented in a way I've never seen before. Unconforming and explosive, I hope to see it staged some day.