Blasted/ 19:21 Theatre Company
Mossmer Hotel, SF June 22, 2008.
The seven of us stood in the lobby of the Mossmer Hotel on Fourth Street. We didn’t now much; all we knew was that we were seeing a production of Blasted, Sarah Kane’s first popular play. We are handed veils as we are told to put them on and place them on over our heads. There were three holes; one hole for our mouth and two for our heads. From this moment on we knew we were in for something special. We would soon be observes to something that would become more poetic than any experience I had ever had before.
What you see feels like something other than theatre. There are none of the traditions that are present in normal theatre. There is no cast list and there is no program. In fact there is no program. And appropriately at the finale there is no blackout, (the room is already dark), and no curtain call.
19;21 Theatre Company from England brings us a trans-continental cast production of Blasted by Sarah Kane. This company brings us perhaps one of the most intimate but also one of the most aloof theatre experiences I have ever had. This production of Blasted has been staged, like the real play, in a hotel room. There is no defined stage, just as there is no defined place for the viewer to be. The audience is free to move to find a better vantage point as the show is staged around them. If you want to see part of a scene better, it is your job to find a better place stand.
The acting was almost subpar at the top of the show, as the two leads did not seem to play very well together at first. The main reason there is this feeling at first is the audience is in fact not used to this style. The dialogue is not given in a particularly “theatre” style, it is given more conversationally. But gradually as you grew into the style and into this new form, the audience gradually warms up to the actors and the style of the show.
When the work shows its true brilliance it is when things starts to fall apart. As the apartment is thrown into to ruin by the entrance of the soldier the play takes on a whole new light and the performances get so much more believable. Lighting helps to play a big role in this as the lights begin to get less and less and are used to focus you on what you are supposed to be seeing. The performances of the actors too becomes all the more intense and believable.
Those of my readers who are familiar with the work of Sarah Kane know how brutal she is. Her work, thusly, is incredibility hard to stage. And 19:21 have found a new way to bring her work to life. The staging and lighting of the piece is so brilliant you don’t realize it until hours or maybe even days later. How they accomplish what the piece calls for is the most theatric part of the piece, and is worth seeing the piece just for itself. But where the piece really shines is the experience. The feelings that the piece gives the audience as we leave, unsure if we were to clap, just leave or cry. Blasted remains true to the ways of Sarah Kane and hits you dead on in the face with its unique experience. Ultimately this piece provides the perfect introduction to a new viewer of Kane’s work, but it also brings to life one of her plays in a new way that people even the most familiar with her work would not miss.
What can only be classified as “event theatre.” When it really comes down to it, Blasted is all about the experience and what the audience goes through as they journey through the play. And because of that they get away with some things that would not quite work in any “normal” production. All theatre productions should take a little advice from this production and accommodate the experience of their audience. It helps a lot and effectively engages any member of the audience. Blasted is one of the best events of the year, and is well worth the look. This is an experience you will not soon forget.
Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage.
An Ecstasy with the Pomegranate
Figaro: Musical drama.By Steven Epp and Dominique Serrand, adapted from Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” and three plays by Beaumarchais. Directed by Serrand. (Through June 8. Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Berkeley Repertory’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley. Two hours, 50 minutes. Tickets: $16.50-$69. Call (510) 647-2949 or go to
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Comedy. By William Shakespeare. Directed by Tim Supple. (Through June 1. Curran Theatre, 445 Geary St., San Francisco. Two hours, 30 minutes. Tickets: $35-$80. Call (415)512-7770 or go to
