Mindblowing, Graphic, Disturbing... BLASTED

     Wow... walking out of the theatre after Blasted, I could not say that I liked the play. By that I don't mean it wasn't good, it was amazing. A play should be able to take its audience on a journey against their will and Blasted did just that. No, I'm saying that "like" is not the right word. What I can say is that it was a solid, completely effective production that had me on the edge of my seat since the lights dimmed at the very beginning.
     It was interesting to me at first how the play initially developed. I had decided to look up the plot prior to watching the play in order to have some sense of what to expect rather than be completely blindsided by the content. Yet the manner in which it was described and the way I understood it did not completely match in the beginning, leading me to feel a slight slowness with the introduction. Nevertheless, I remained gripped and I feel that the feelings of slowness only increased suspense.
     A landmark point that changed my perspective came when Ian and the soldier were locked in place right as a bomb struck the hotel they were at. It came out of nowhere to me and sent a chill through my body since I had been so completely engrossed in the possibility of Ian being blown apart by this soldier. It was during the ensuing period of white noise that i noticed quite a few people in the audience conversing loudly, which in other productions would've greatly distracted me and taken something away from the effectiveness of the play. Yet with Blasted it didn't negatively affect it in any way, nor did the desensitized laughter at graphic points; although it was odd to me that there could be desensitized laughter towards something so disturbing.

     The changes in the set to represent a destroyed hotel were simple in concept but magnificent in execution. All we saw were naked building supports, smoke and a bed, but the way it just breathed despair was intense. And in regards to the truly, TRULY disturbing parts, I feel like we already know what happened so there's no need to delve into the consumption of eyes and infantile limbs, or female and male rape other than stating that it happened and it was shocking. And Cate's deranged laughter was spine-chilling as well, marking a major difference in her initial character due to the horrors of war.
     Now all I can wonder about is how a person (Sarah Kane) could have such a disturbing, frightful and graphic story running through their mind. It's very baffling in my opinion if you really think in depth about it. A truly outstanding production, I can honestly say I'm glad I was able to experience it.

-Andrew Zapata