One of the reasons why I've been quite slack about posting this year, is because of study (had three essays due last week) and extra curricular things. It was just over a month ago when the production '4:48 Psychosis' was put on at my university, where I played the lead.
WARNING NOTE: THIS PLAY CONTAINS UPSETTING THEMES, I APOLOGISE
'4:48 Psychosis' was written by Sarah Kane, about a lady who has clinical depression and it is about the thoughts of hers in the lead up to her suicide. It is an extremely dark and intense script, which is written in an abstract way, without any stage directions and without any scenes; it is just a stream of consciousness, which allows a director to adapt and recontextualise as much as they want. The version were performed was heavily edited, transforming this poetic piece into more of a realism piece, with abstract elements. I'm not very good at describing it, but the set was black and white and minimalist. The walls and floor were black, the bed was centre stage and white, with white bedside table and white shelf on the side. Black chair and in the corner, a modest mirror. And that was all. Each scene was a flashback of the lady's, to memories with her mother, with her lover and with her doctor. And the transitions from each of these scenes were set in her present, which was in the middle of the night, while she is unable to sleep and before she is about to commit suicide at 4:48am, which is how the play ends.
It is an extremely raw play, and Sarah Kane herself suffered clinical depression and a few months after writing was complete, she committed suicide. As I said, it was a really intense and dark play, but there were four of us in the cast and the two directors, so we all grew really close and had each other for support, which was great. Despite the darkness of the content, it was an amazing experience and I loved every moment throughout the process of reading the script for the first time, all the way to the final bow. And I'm so glad to have been a part of it.
How does this link to 'Music Monday' you may ask. Well, while we were rehearsing, I did a bit of research about the play, reading the original script, as well as watching a few versions of it, but I also found a song called '4:48 Psychosis' by Tindersticks, that use a selection of lines from the play. And considering I've been wanting to write about the play for ages, as it was a large part of my life for three months (rehearsing almost every day), I thought I may as well combine two blog posts together.
I'm actually not going to put '4:48 Psychosis' on todays post, because it is a very sensitive and serious topic and it can be upsetting for people. So, please, don't listen to the song if you don't want to, because I don't know if it is too confronting or too personal for a lot of people. I don't know what everyones comfort zone is, so this is my WARNING message, because I really don't want to upset anyone. But if you are interested in listening to the song, feel free to, because Sarah Kane's work is beautifully written and Tindersticks piece is haunting and a great interpretation of the play.
WARNING NOTE: THIS PLAY CONTAINS UPSETTING THEMES, I APOLOGISE
'4:48 Psychosis' was written by Sarah Kane, about a lady who has clinical depression and it is about the thoughts of hers in the lead up to her suicide. It is an extremely dark and intense script, which is written in an abstract way, without any stage directions and without any scenes; it is just a stream of consciousness, which allows a director to adapt and recontextualise as much as they want. The version were performed was heavily edited, transforming this poetic piece into more of a realism piece, with abstract elements. I'm not very good at describing it, but the set was black and white and minimalist. The walls and floor were black, the bed was centre stage and white, with white bedside table and white shelf on the side. Black chair and in the corner, a modest mirror. And that was all. Each scene was a flashback of the lady's, to memories with her mother, with her lover and with her doctor. And the transitions from each of these scenes were set in her present, which was in the middle of the night, while she is unable to sleep and before she is about to commit suicide at 4:48am, which is how the play ends.
It is an extremely raw play, and Sarah Kane herself suffered clinical depression and a few months after writing was complete, she committed suicide. As I said, it was a really intense and dark play, but there were four of us in the cast and the two directors, so we all grew really close and had each other for support, which was great. Despite the darkness of the content, it was an amazing experience and I loved every moment throughout the process of reading the script for the first time, all the way to the final bow. And I'm so glad to have been a part of it.
How does this link to 'Music Monday' you may ask. Well, while we were rehearsing, I did a bit of research about the play, reading the original script, as well as watching a few versions of it, but I also found a song called '4:48 Psychosis' by Tindersticks, that use a selection of lines from the play. And considering I've been wanting to write about the play for ages, as it was a large part of my life for three months (rehearsing almost every day), I thought I may as well combine two blog posts together.
I'm actually not going to put '4:48 Psychosis' on todays post, because it is a very sensitive and serious topic and it can be upsetting for people. So, please, don't listen to the song if you don't want to, because I don't know if it is too confronting or too personal for a lot of people. I don't know what everyones comfort zone is, so this is my WARNING message, because I really don't want to upset anyone. But if you are interested in listening to the song, feel free to, because Sarah Kane's work is beautifully written and Tindersticks piece is haunting and a great interpretation of the play.
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