Somewhere, someplace. Six abandoned souls try to save themselves through love. But an ominous observer puts their declarations to the ultimate test.
Described as “impossibly demanding” on its performers, English playwright Sarah Kane’s Cleansed is a rarely staged and savage portrait of the human heart. It comes to the Old Fitz, the small but mighty theatre in the basement of a Darlinghurst pub, care of director Dino Dimitriadis (Angels in America, Metamorphoses, Doubt) and their all-queer team.
Kane is widely recognised as one of the most radical and influential writers of the last thirty years. She wrote five plays before taking her own life in 1999 at the age of 28. Kane’s plays caused controversy, but a recognition of what makes her writing so remarkable – including her reimagining of structure and her powerful expression of different mental states – has only grown since her death.
“I don't know anyone who isn't navigating what to feel, and what to think of the world, at this present moment. Kane's Cleansed – rarely staged and explosively daring - is a work that burrows deep into the mind, gut and heart,” says Dimitriadis.
“And unlike most theatre that you see. There are too many content notes to mention here (though we’ve made these available to audiences) and it's described by some as 'impossibly demanding' on its performers. But the Old Fitz theatre is a sacred space and over the years I've had the privilege of bringing some of the biggest worlds to this intimate wonderland. Despite its extremities, this work is a love letter to the human heart, and to the immediacy of live performance.”
Cleansed plays at the Old Fitz Theatre from June 9-25. Tickets are $34.69 to $46.94 and you can snap them up here.
