Sarah Kane's Theatre of Psychic Life: Theatre, Thought and Mental Suffering

Sarah Kane was a pioneering playwright of the 1990s, and this book explores her unique approach to mind and mental health, revealing the relationship between theatre and mind that lies at the heart of her theatrical project. It uses performance theory, psychoanalysis, and neuroscience to uncover the mechanics of this innovative theatre practice and offers urgent insights into mental suffering that go beyond traditional discourses of empathy and mental health.

Format: Hardback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 06 April 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Sarah Kane was a groundbreaking playwright in 1990s Britain, whose influence extended across the UK and Europe. This book is the first to focus solely on Kane's distinctive perspective on mind and mental health. It provides a significant reassessment of her work, shedding light on the connection between theatre and the mind that forms the core of her theatrical vision. Drawing on performance theory, psychoanalysis, and neuroscience, this book contends that Kane's innovative techniques create a "dramaturgy of psychic life" that reshapes the interaction between the stage and the audience. It utilizes previously unseen archival material and contemporary productions to reveal the mechanics of this groundbreaking theatrical approach. Through an unreservedly open-ended approach to dramaturgy, Kane's works offer pressing insights into mental anguish that go beyond conventional understandings of empathy and mental health and into a profound reevaluation of theatre as a form of thought. As such, her theatre can assist us in comprehending contemporary discussions surrounding mental suffering.

Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350283121