The production of Sarah Kane’s Cleansed at the National Theatre this month provoked some delightfully cliched repsonses from the national press. The Mail gave it one star, decrying the inappropriate use of an arts grant on torture porn; The Guardian gave it four stars and praised the “dark female voice” at the heart of the production. VICE reacted with a sarcastic commentary on the cliches of the national press, took a drag on their roll-up and said that they aren’t scared of a bit of blood, thanks to online desensitisation, turning into a preachy reflection on how the papers just don’t get the “youth” like VICE does – presumably stemming from their desperation to let us know how many drugs they do and how relevant they are.
The fact remains that all of these forms of media put some reference to the shocking violence of the production; or the number of walkouts and faints that a production has managed to squeeze out of their audience. And the fact is that this sort of sensationalism is incredibly effective at selling newspapers – just as its effective at selling theatre tickets. I’ve resigned to myself that you’re realistically only reading this thanks to the delightfully gory image I’ve managed to procure for the article.
Although the violence of this production is commodified so successfully, it has its roots in the heart-rending story of a prom- ising young playwright, suffering from depression, and tackling it through her art, who committed suicide by hanging herself. Barricade Arts’ production of Mercury Fur at the Pilch was similarly able to sell out on the back of sensational desire for violence. However, as a cast member remarked, visceral theatre puts an audience “into a state of vulnerability that allows them to emotionally connect with the play. And if that means fainting, then okay.”
