Cleansed

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About the Show

Rebecca Frecknall directs Sarah Kane’s searing exploration of love, violence, and the limits of devotion.

Cleansed follows two lovers and two siblings as they navigate love, loyalty, and sacrifice under extreme conditions. The characters’ devotion is tested through acts of escalating violence, raising questions about how far they are willing to go for one another—and whether love can survive in the most brutal of circumstances.

The play is written by Sarah Kane, known for her groundbreaking work in British theatre, and directed by Rebecca Frecknall (A Streetcar Named Desire, Cabaret). This production brings Kane’s text to the stage under the direction of a leading voice in contemporary theatre.

Originally premiered in 1998, Cleansed is considered one of Kane’s most challenging works, examining the nature of desire, the endurance of love, and the consequences of emotional extremity.

Critic Reviews (5)

"Staging it now is really about keeping alive the memory of a playwright whose light shone too briefly. Still, it certainly doesn't leave you feeling cleansed."
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"Sarah Kane's play is unbearably bleak and, without depth, it's impossible to see any logic to the plight of the characters subjected to violence."
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"Sadly, Cleansed was not a pleasant experience for me, though I am sure others will have wildly different takes on it and, after all, that is the beauty of theatre."
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"Rebecca Frecknall finds the visual power of Sarah Kane's most infamous – and relentless – play."
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"In the opening scene, a young man is injected, by choice, directly in the eyeball, and I later come back to this moment, feeling ridiculous that I thought this would be the worst of it."
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