Foul, disturbing, etc.

Disturbing, disgusting, frightening. These are the first words that come to mind when recalling Sarah Kane’s “Blasted.” After witnessing a series of the most awful things that exist in the world, I emerged from the performance with one, gnawing question: Why would anyone create this? My first reaction in describing Blasted was essentially a strung together series of the most awful and wretched existences in the world. Why was Sarah Kane thinking about eating babies, why was she thinking about a post-apocalyptic world in which atrocities are commonplace, and not only why was she thinking these things but what compelled her to create a play in which these images are so graphically displayed?

Nausea soon gave way to incredulity, incredulity gave way to depression, and depression has now given way to curiosity. After the shock of the performance and images of an older man masturbating on a stage were not as fresh, I have begun to attempt to understand why Sarah Kane created this. It is not surprising to me, as insensitive as this may sound, why Sarah Kane committed suicide. It is also clear that she struggled with depression and disturbing images consumed her mind. I had never even considered the notion of eating a baby or having one’s eyes gouged out after being raped; to know that these were images straight from Sarah Kane’s imagination has evoked from me a deep sense of sympathy. If thoughts such as these were rolling around in my head, I would want to release them as well (though I probably would not have been driven to create a play out of them). In this sense, I almost find it understandable for her to have created this piece of work. Blasted to me, aside from the shock factor and “in your face” appeal, is a way of Sarah Kane saying to the world “Yes, this stuff is terrible to think about but I see terrible things in my mind and this is what it feels like.”

The play has evoked an unprecedented level of horror and I can only imagine what other thoughts Sarah Kane had. Blasted seemed to have no plot, no point other than to expose the most foul deeds a human is capable of: canabalism, rape, murder, (defecation is low on the list but still unappealing). Perhaps the most compelling thing about these acts is that the root of them is human instincts, instincts of hunger, hormones, self-defense. The play seemed to expose the most animalistic side of humans, and the instinctual acts that give way once society, manners, morality have collapsed. Was Sarah Kane trying to say that every human, in face of desperation and lack of society, are capable of heinous acts? Was she trying to make her audiences feel as uncomfortable as she felt? I do not know, but what I do know is that above the disgust and depression I feel after watching Blasted, I feel grateful. I feel grateful for the lack of these atrocities in my own life and I feel grateful to not suffer from thoughts like these in my head.

Hannah Park
UCSB