Cleansed, Almeida Theatre, 2026
Photo: Nadav Kander | Leo Bill

Cleansed

Rebecca Frecknall ends her time at the Almeida with a revival of Sarah Kane’s monstrous masterpiece
  • Theatre, Drama
  • Almeida Theatre, Islington
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Time Out says

Sarah Kane’s harrowing masterpiece about love and torture was last revived a decade ago, when Katy Mitchell’s production caused audience members to faint. Now Almeida deputy Rebecca Frecknall waves goodbye to the theatre that made her name with a revival, and a rare deviation for her from the classic American plays she tends to direct. The plot isn”t exactly easy to describe, but it follows a group of inmates in a hospital-like inistitution presided over by the monstrous Tinker, who tortures them, experiments on them, and commits various other unspeakable acts both physical and psychological.

Leo Bill, Pearl Chanda, Luke Cinque-White, Lizzy Connolly, Jack Riddiford, Parth Thakerar and Stuart Thompson star. Genuinely about as extreme as art gets, it’s not for the faint of heart.

Details

Address
Almeida Theatre
Almeida St
Islington
London
N1 1TA
Transport:
Rail/Tube: Highbury & Islington; Rail: Essex Road; Tube: Angel
Price:
£27.50-£55

Dates and times

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