Sarah’s background:

 

• Old plus are very much traditional compared to Sarah Kanes style- mainly about upper class citizens. 

• 80’s hit and Margret Thatcher was prime minister. 

• Real life issues and matter became more popular in the theatre world.

• 90’s everyone was angry- In-Yer Face was a group Kane was apart of, it is a genre of theatre, very aggressive and violent, attacked modern society, always talks about big issues in the world such as sexism, rape, war- metaphysical: big questions are unanswered.

 

Sarah:

 

• She was known as the Rockstar of the writing industry and a voice of the generation. 

• She wrote 6 plays in total. 

• At 28 she hung herself with her shoelaces in a Hospital after being left alone in the toilets. 

• Her first attempt was an overdose of 150 antidepressants and 50 sleeping pills. 

• All her plays consisted of the feeling of being hopeless. 

• Critics didn’t like her and were extremely harsh to her in the papers. Tinka was a famous critic as this “character” was used multiple times during Kane’s play’s. 

• Kane brought a lot of attention to situations occurring throughout the world and people didn’t like this as her way of showing these situations was brutally honest and dramatic. 

• The world she lived in was not ready for her work and she was very much a head if her time. 

• She felt awfully controlled and trapped by religion so she took a lot of her anger out onto religion through her writing. 

• Kane seemed to struggle with her sexuality and gender as pronouns are switched continuously in 4.48 psychosis. 

• The social statement of her area was punk-rock. 

 

An Autobiographical play:

 

• The play’s form was never conformed to the same pace or context and was very flexible.

• Gender of the narrator/s was never mentions. 

• It was a  genre of contemporary theatre. 

• No age of anyone voices in the play was mentioned. 

• No amount of performers are given. 

• No stage directions only a few italic silences were wrote. 

• No setting or timing of the play was given. 

• There seemed to always be a multitude of voices hitting towards delusions. 

• No indication to how anything should look as the play is performed is given. 

• Lots of metaphors were used. 

 

4.48:

 

• 4.48 is a biblical reference to John from the bible. 

• It is known as the time that patients decide they won’t see the morning. 

• During this time of the night, it is known to have delusions and hallucinations so Kane must have felt worse than she normally did during this time. 

• Quite poetic, onomatopoeia is frequently used. 

 

Scene 1: 

 

• Lot of this is is repeated throughout.

• Someone’s trying to help in an helpless situation

 

Scene 2:

 

• Starts revealing the narrators thought process.

• Talks about their torment- cockroaches are used to express this.

• No gender of narrator is given- broken hermaphrodite, uncomfortable on their own skin possibly. 

• Reference to Buddhism.

 

Scene 3:

 

• Male presence: brother or lover. 

• The patient was restless even after taking a load of drugs (sleeping pills).

 

Scene 4:

 

• Count backwards suppose to help someone in a psychotic episode.

 

Scene 5:

 

• Descriptive scene.

• Normal day compared to ta psychotic.

 

Scene 6:

 

• Talking to a helper.

• Humorous- (IDEAD: playing violin to represent harming themselves)

• The helpers really realistic. 

 

Scene 7:

 

• Body and soul aren’t marries- they do’t work together in the mind of the narrator.

• Symbolism of dreams is referenced.

 

Scene 8:

 

• Please reply as soon as possible.

 

Scene 9:

 

• The patient feels used and doesn’t understand why their person doesn’t feel the same way towards them.

 

Scene 10:

 

• The helper talking again. 

 

Scene 11:

 

• The main speaker s in love.

• Gender of the person they love changed from male to female.

• Biblical quote “My love, my love, why have you forsaken me” Matthew 27:6.

 

Scene 12: 

 

• No ifs or buts.

• Descriptive 

 

Scene 13:

 

• Drowning in a sea of logic.

• Biblical reference Matthew 9

 

Scene 14:

 

• Symptoms

• Case notes

• History of medications

• Language isn’t professional so the narrator of this scene isn’t;t necessarily a doctor. 

 

Scene 15:

 

• Hatch opens- reference to Greek stories. 

 

Scene 16:

 

• Religion being abused 

• Jews being referred to being different and hated for it.

• Links to first scene.

 

Scene 17:

 

• Zachariah 14:6

• Biblical reference.

• Images- people riding dragons. 

 

Scene 18:

 

• Aimed at 4.48

• When sanity visits the narrator feel its at 4:48

• The narrator feels it’s the only thing that makes sense at that time. 

• Pure insanity 

 

Scene 19:

 

• Hatch opened again

• Song is referenced

• Metaphor to a story of a sailor who had to jump on glass as a bet and he tried to cut his feet as he was in so much agony, instead he puts his feet in cold water so they heal quickly, this is how the narrator feels. 

 

Scene 20: 

 

• Numbers 

• Counting down to try stop a psychotic episode?

 

Scene 21:

 

• Losing touch of reality makes the narrator feel normal 

 

Scene 22:

 

• Goals and achieving. 

 

Scene 23: 

 

• “You’ve seen the worst of me”

 

Scene 24: 

 

• Flattened up.

• Song toya.

• References to a film.

• Medication caused ED’s and other issues.

• Metaphysical questions.