| Crave | Black Light |
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New Brisbane theatre and arts collective, Black Light, presents British playwright Sarah Kane's haunting dramatic masterpiece Crave. Following its debut in 1998 at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Crave has received popular and critical acclaim for its productions throughout the world, and now comes to Brisbane's Metro Arts from May 28 - 31, 2008.
Crave is described as one of Kane's best and most mature scripts. The lyrical and experimental play charts the disintegration of a human mind under the pressures of love, loss, and desire. Set in an unnamed city from which voices and images spring, four characters' stories intersect in a collage of poetic images, literary references, monologues, and dramatic encounters.
Director Melanie Wild says: "Sarah Kane is one of the most important playwrights in post-war theatre. She is most well-known for the controversy surrounding the production of her first play, Blasted, at the Royal Court, and its use of shocking violence. But, for me, her biggest theatrical legacy is her experimentation with form and theatrical style.
"In that sense, I believe Crave is her most important play in that it completely disregards any sense of realism: there is no defined characterisation, minimal stage directions, no plot or narrative. It situates itself somewhere in between poetry and music yet is still very theatrical."
Sarah Kane completed Crave just before her death in 1999, aged 27. Melanie Wild wishes to share Kane's work with Brisbane audiences because they rarely get to see some of the more "edgy and gritty" theatre from overseas. "This year will mark the tenth anniversary of the first production of Crave," she says, "and still so many people are unfamiliar with Sarah Kane and her work. Hopefully with this production we can open people up to a whole new theatrical experience."
The production features a cast of talented Brisbane actors, including Judy Hainsworth (La Boite Theatre Company's The Narcissist), Remy Hii (QTC's The Estimator), Gavin Ingham (Springboard Theatre Company's The Return) and Natasha Yantsch (Metro Arts Independents' The Reunion). Director Melanie Wild is currently undertaking a dramaturgy mentorship with Playlab, and will assistant direct the combined Sydney Theatre Company/La Boite production of Stephen Carleton's The Narcissist.
The creative team also includes designers Benjamin Williams and Ryan Deveau, lighting designer Dylan Barnes, stage manager Sarah Thomasson, and assistant stage manager Joseph Collings.
"An oddly beautiful chamber quartet for inflamed yet bewildered souls." The Times (London)
"Four nameless characters from an unidentifiable city, tell their tales of disintegration and isolation. Their dialogues meet, converge and move apart with balletic grace, with caustically humorous as well as distressing consequences. Kane uses the inherent schizophrenia of such a style brilliantly.... A hugely unnerving theatrical experience." Time Out (London)
Black Light presents
Crave
by Sarah Kane
Venue: Studio, Metro Arts, 109 Edward St, Brisbane
Dates: Wed 28 – Sat 31 May
Time: 8pm
Tickets: Full - $16: Concession - $12 (online booking fees apply)
Bookings: 1300 762 545 / www.oztix.com.au / at the door
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Thursday, 08 January 2009
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