4:48 Psychosis, written by Sarah Kane. I had heard this was a pretty phenomenal piece of theatre, so Josh and I went to check it out tonight at Princeton University (here is a review). Definitely one where you walk out thinking…well, yah, just thinking.
Kane was a British playwright who herself struggled with manic depression (and committed suicide after completing this play). Her plays dealt with death, sex, violence and mental illness. 4:48 Psychosis (which takes its name from the most common time for a suicide) gave you an intense look into the minds of 3 people in a psych-ward(?) of a hospita or a mental health institution. It was very fragmented, disturbing, painful…everything that someone suffering depression or extreme cases of mental illness would understand. The set design was amazing and the way in which they played with the mirrors and lighting was breathtaking. The cast was amazing, and the depth of emotion they portrayed was just fabulous.
It’s hard to leave a production like that without wondering about mental illness, questioning the role spirituality plays in the lives of people going through that much suffering and disillusionment, what it must feel like to be in that state constantly…with no escape: nothing but a perpetual darkness, brightness, noisy & silent existence.
One scene has stuck with me. The three actors were all sitting down, with their backs to each other, going around and sharing what they were hopeful for…to feel, to touch, to make love, to be able to heal, to be able to be healed, to be noticed, to converse, to talk in civilized tones, to listen…but the last three were the ones that have stuck with me: to be forgiven, to be loved, to be free. I hope we, as followers of the one who we believe can do this, will be living lives so that O(o)thers may be forgiven…loved…and freed.