Blasted

Whether you love, hate or are completely overwhelmed by it, there is no doubting that Blasted is an astonishing production of an extraordinary play.  The text by once ‘enfant terrible’ of British Theatre Sarah Kane had its first production at the Royal Court Theatre in 1995.   

This particular rendition boasts a stunning set by Marg Horwell and is directed with exquisite finesse by Anne Marie Sarks

On opening night it took a while for the ‘shell shocked’ audience to clap - but once we started we did so with great enthusiasm.  What amazed me was that no one walked out during the show shouting ‘depraved’.  Blasted ‘takes no prisoners!’  It is very powerful and pervading theatre.  It is the type of work that one mulls over for days and days because it offers rich perceptions and startling insights.

Opening as a two hander, seemingly based in naturalism, we watch a tortured dysfunctional relationship that activates concerns about abuse and domestic violence.  Two helplessly mismatched individuals, a young woman played by Eloise Mignon and older man played by David Woods, spend time together in an upmarket hotel room.  There is little joy and considerable miscommunication.  It would seem that the relationship really only exists due to the neediness of the bloke (David Wood), who appears to be more like a hit man than a jaded and ill journalist.  Emotional blackmail, psychological manipulation and violence reign.  And we, as audience, just want to better understand why these two are actually together in the ‘tinderbox’ of a generic hotel room.

As the work progresses it becomes a vastly more extensive study of ‘man’s inhumanity to man.’  Nothing is sacred and it speaks of deep primitive masculine drives towards brutal sexual violence. 

Kane seems to be trying to investigate the masculine need (of some men) to sexually abuse.  Through this play we see just how perceptive she was and how she is able to shed light on dark and irrevocably entangled behavior.  She was extraordinary in her capacity to delve into the deep and subliminal and bring it up, into the light, to be examined.

One must pay homage to Eloise Mignon, David Wood and Fayssal Bazzi.  Their capacity and courage, as actors, to work with the intimacy and trust required to truthfully communicate their characters’ experiences is astonishing.

Sound by Jethro Woodward is superb, particularly in the very early stages when it is melodic and bell-like and when silenced; it leaves in its wake an aching sense of palpable yearning.

This is one of those gems of theatre that we so often hope to find but very seldom do.

Five stars from me!

Suzanne Sandow

Credits

Direction – Anne-Louise Sarks

Cast:  Fayssal Bazzi, Eloise Mignon and David Woods

Set and Costume – Marg Horwell

Lighting Design – Paul Jackson

Sound Design and Composition – Jethro Woodward

Design Associate – Romanie Harper

Cinematography – Sky Davies

Gaffer – Jared Fish

Colourist – Nicholas Hower

Stage Manager – Lyndie Li Wan Po

Photographer: Pia Johnson