I read Sarah Kane's play 4.48 Psychosis some years back when I was extremely depressed and it struck me as the baldest, most honest & terrifying representation of the condition I'd ever encountered. Knowing that the play--which is essentially a suicide's monologue--was the last Kane wrote before her own suicide seemed to solidify its veracity in my mind: it is a missive from hell.

All 5 of Kane's plays are compiled in this gut-punch of a collection. Reading them back-to-back I am glad to have never seen a live performance--I simply cannot imagine the fortitude it would take for an actor to deliver the lines without losing themselves mentally, emotionally and physically. These are lives too difficult to try on. There are onstage rapes, amputations, sex, violence, tongue-cutting, mental illness, death & death & death, relentlessly.

Perhaps these plays were Kane's way of externalizing her personal struggles, exorcising her demons, or simply a very public cry for help. Taken altogether they are devastating and heart-breaking to the point that one almost is relieved (for her) that she is no longer with us ( )

I have no idea how to rate this. I don't even know how to describe it. I think I'll need to take a good long think about this one before putting my thoughts down. It deserves serious thought and discussion.

If I were to describe this in one word, it would be "Devastating." It's unusual, cruel, intense, and only offers the bleakest hope in it's aftermath. However, there lies the beauty of it: Hope in the aftermath of human nature at its darkest hour. For while these stories may feature various practices of sadism, there's an abundance of love and the power it holds. This is definitely not for everyone, but it sticks with you, always. ( )

Disturbing. Unnerving. Visceral. Utter despair. Words like cancer. Svelte like God. Numb like suicide. Neat like death. Like a Francis Bacon painting. Pope I. Brilliant. ( )

includes Blasted, Phaedra's Love, Cleansed, Crave, 4.48 Psychosis, Skin