Blasted at Soho Rep

[ahmelie]

Posted: 10/19/08 at 11:04pm

I went last night and have not been able to get it out of my head. Just to curious to hear if others have seen it and have any thoughts. Never have I walked out of a show so utterly horrified, and never before has a show crept under my skin like this one.

I'd recommend it 1000 times over, so long as you've got a strong stomach!

So, anybody else?

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 10/19/08 at 11:56pm

i haven't seen this production, but I know the work of Sarah Kane... it is utterly chilling.

I saw a production of her play "Cleansed" and to this day it remains one of the most horrifying and moving theatrical experiences

[NYUrickydrummer]

Posted: 10/20/08 at 12:04am

"Blasted" is really wonderful. This production is totally awesome. Especially the sound design, by Matt Tierney. By the end, the vibrations and static noise had me totally blown away, in a good way. It's certainly not for the faint of heart, but anyone interested in modern theatre should go.

[walkedthroughmany]

Posted: 10/20/08 at 12:44am

I wish I lived in the area. I read the play, and I can't even fathom how one would go about directing it.

I mean...the eye part...?

Wow.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 10/21/08 at 1:51pm

I have seen a couple of Kane's pieces- hoping I can catch this one.

[hpeabody930]

Posted: 10/21/08 at 4:23pm

AHH!!! It closes less than a week before I get in to NY. SO upset.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/21/08 at 4:29pm

I saw a VERY VERY amateur production of BLASTED.

I have no interest or particular desire to see it again.

I will say this: after watching BLASTED, I see why Kane killed herself. If that's what was in MY head, I probably would do the same thing.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 10/21/08 at 4:44pm

Seems every performance is sold out for the rest of the run even with the extension.

I saw Psychosis 4.48 done by a professional company in Chicago and Crave in the DC area. I echo YankeeFan007. Kane's troubles are apparent.

[hpeabody930]

Posted: 10/21/08 at 5:40pm

I know very very little about the play. What's it about?

[ahmelie]

Posted: 10/21/08 at 7:39pm

Her work seems very sensitive to it's direction and how it's acted. I imagine that a poor production of Blasted would be revolting.

[Insider2]

Posted: 10/22/08 at 11:03am

Isn't anyone talking about transferring this? It received love letter reviews from just about everyone and you can't score a ticket to it at Soho Rep.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/7/08 at 9:18am

Any more thoughts on this? I'm very interested in it...

[tothestage468]

Posted: 11/7/08 at 5:08pm

did anyone else think the set design was incredible?!
I mean clearly the acting is phenomenal, but THE SET! The sound design was great too.

...man...sarah kane ...
how do you come up with that??

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 11/7/08 at 5:14pm

Well, the woman was obviously troubled. She did kill herself, after all. As I said earlier, after seeing BLASTED it's kinda obvious that she wasn't thinking about sunshine and lollipops.

They've just extended through Dec. 21.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:37pm

Oh I'm so excited it extended! I read a review of this awhile ago, but it didn't really inspire me, but after hearing all about it I really want to see it. I love dark theater, so I'm excited to see it. How small is the theater? Is that why it's selling out?

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/8/08 at 2:24am

I saw a relatively recent production of "Blasted" in Chicago, and was thoroughly disturbed by it. I never leave plays, not even at intermission, but I was "this close" to getting up and leaving, and probably would have had the play not abruptly ended.

As a life-long sufferer of depression myself, I am very saddened by how tragic Sarah Kane's short life was. But "Blasted" is snuff theatre, basically. I am sure that Kane wrote the play from a very honest place and wanted it to have meaning, but unfortunately I found the production I saw to have little artistic value beyond the excellent performances of the three actors. I have no problem with sexually explicit or violent plays--I mean, I count "Sweeney Todd," "Red Light Winter," and "The Pillowman" as some of my favorite works--but I don't feel that "Blasted" earns it's graphic nature. If you're going to have [SPOILER] a baby being eaten onstage, a man's eyes sucked out and eaten, and a rape all simulated onstage in one play, there has to be a good artistic reason for it. And there just doesn't seem to be any artistic reason for some of the very disturbing events in that play.

But maybe the New York production found a way to make the play work better. It seems to have done pretty well. It certainly is a memorable piece of work, I can say that.