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In–Yer-Face: the Shocking Sarah Kane

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In–Yer-Face: The Shocking Sarah Kane Louise Anne Buchler Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Drama and Performance studies in the School of Literature Studies, Media and Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, November, 2008. DECLARATION I, ………………………………………………………................. declare that (1) The research reported in this dissertation, except where otherwise indicated, is my original work. (2) This dissertation has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. (3) This dissertation does not contain other person’s data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. (4) This dissertation does not contain other persons’ writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, then: (a) their words have been re-written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced; (b) Where their exact words have been used, their writing has been placed inside quotation marks, and referenced. (5) Where I have reproduced a publication of which I am an author, co-author or editor, I have indicated in detail which part of the publication was actually written by myself alone and have fully referenced such publications. (6) This dissertation does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the Internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the dissertation and in the References section. Signed: ……………………………………………………………………………………. (Louise Anne Buchler) As the candidate‟s Supervisor I have approved this dissertation for submission: Signed: ……………………………………………………………………………………... (Veronica Baxter) Supervisor. 1 In-Yer-Face: The Shocking Sarah Kane Louise Buchler Acknowledgements My heartfelt and sincere thanks go to: Dr Veronica Baxter, my supervisor, for her mentorship, professional guidance and dedication to the academic pursuits of others, as well as her friendship, support, and tissues when needed. The NRF for funding and making my academic pursuits possible. The Drama and Performance Studies academic staff for their guidance, inspiration and ongoing support. The Hexagon Staff for their friendship, support and moments of respite. My dear friends James, Eloise, Morwenna, Daniel, Avi, Ari, Sita, Mbo, Kiara, Jackie, Justin, Claire, Debbie, Jean and Paul for bearing with me, for comfort and advice, for laughter and support, and above all a soft place to land. A special thank you to Kiara Worth for editing, formatting and proof reading my dissertation. Special acknowledgements go to my Mom, Dad, and brother, David for their unconditional love and unwavering faith in me. And to Brett, for everything. 2 In-Yer-Face: The Shocking Sarah Kane Louise Buchler ABSTRACT Playwright, Sarah Kane emerged as a new voice in British writing in the early 1990s. Her work, recognized most notably for its shocking content, was the source of media hype, and rendered her work, with that of her peers, as In-Yer-Face Theatre. This dissertation analyses the use of shock in Kane‟s work, with particular reference to her first and last plays: Blasted and 4.48 Psychosis. I discuss the shock elements employed by Kane in these texts and consider the reasons behind their use, particularly Kane‟s break with realism and subversion of form. My research draws upon social constructionist thought as a strand of the larger discourses of postmodernism, in particular those which inform the existence of war, violence and trauma. Focusing too, on the work of theatre practitioners such as Antonin Artaud, whose „Theatre of Cruelty‟ is reminiscent of Kane‟s own theatre. I discuss the origin of In-Yer-Face Theatre as well as its forerunners by examining Post- War British Theatre from the 1940‟s, especially those plays that have resonated on a provocative level. My research also explores the social and political factors influencing theatre over the decades and in relation to Kane, particularly the Thatcher government of the 1980s. I argue that the social and political climate of the 1980s and 1990s played a direct role in the formation of Kane‟s theatre and examine Kane‟s work and its reception in relation to other playwrights of the time. I have deliberately chosen to locate my research in terms of British theatre. 3 In-Yer-Face: The Shocking Sarah Kane Louise Buchler TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ 3 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................... 9 Rise of the “Angry Young Man’ ........................................................................ 10 Osborne’s Forerunners .................................................................................... 13 The Sixties and Seventies ............................................................................... 15 Edward Bond ................................................................................................. 16 The 1980s and Margaret Thatcher ................................................................... 19 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................... 26 Patrick Marber’s Closer ................................................................................... 31 The Violent 90s ................................................................................................ 33 A New Aesthetic vs Realism ............................................................................ 38 CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................... 41 Forerunners to Blasted .................................................................................... 42 Shopping and What?! ...................................................................................... 44 Sexism and Killer Joe ...................................................................................... 48 Kane’s Influences ............................................................................................ 51 Kane and the Unpresentable ........................................................................... 58 CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................. 60 It’s quite a peaceful play .................................................................................. 61 That Blasted Play!............................................................................................ 62 Form and Function ........................................................................................... 63 Are we still in Leeds? ....................................................................................... 68 Sex and Violence ............................................................................................. 69 Rape and War ................................................................................................. 75 The Abandonment of Realism: Staging the Unseen ......................................... 80 A Silver Lining ................................................................................................. 85 Blasted Revisited ............................................................................................. 86 4.48 Psychosis ................................................................................................ 86 Staging 4.48 Psychosis ................................................................................... 89 Kane: The Suicidal Nihilist? ............................................................................. 93 4.48 Psychosis: Genius or Suicide Note? ........................................................ 97 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................... 101 REFERENCE LIST .................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 4 In-Yer-Face: The Shocking Sarah Kane Louise Buchler INTRODUCTION This research report deals with the British theatre phenomenon known as In-yer-face and in particular a forerunner within this genre: Sarah Kane. In-yer-face Theatre alludes to any work that makes use predominantly of shock tactics on stage and for this reason I have chosen to examine the work of Kane, who shocked British audiences with her raw, brash and nihilistic style of writing. The colloquial understanding of shock suggests that it is something upsetting but also capable of eliciting outrage. It is most definitely the latter definition that best describes the intentions of the young twenty-something playwrights in Britain in the early 1990s producing this form of theatre. In order to fully appreciate the rise of In-yer-face, like most new phenomena, the socio-political sphere preceding its development must be examined. Therefore, in this research paper I shall present an in depth analysis of the political and social climate of the 1980s, with Britain under the rule of Margaret Thatcher, and how this particular time frame informed and inspired a new theatre in the 1990s. It is interesting to note that this form of theatre did not exist in a bubble. Like most new emerging genres it is heavily dependent on the work of predecessors in the theatrical
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