A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays , which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading . Ben Jonson coined the term "playwright" and is the first person in English literature to refer to playwrights as separate from poets .
113-635: Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright , screenwriter and theatre director . She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological—and death. They are characterised by a poetic intensity, pared-down language, exploration of theatrical form and, in her earlier work, the use of extreme and violent stage action. Kane herself and scholars of her work, such as Graham Saunders, have identified some of her inspirations as expressionist theatre and Jacobean tragedy . The critic Aleks Sierz saw her work as part of
226-574: A donor or deputy , or decision of the Court of Protection . Absence or "leave" from hospital can be granted by the RC for a patient detained under either a Section 2 assessment order or Section 3 treatment order, and the RC will ultimately be responsible for discharging a patient under such an order. Following discharge from a Section 3 treatment order, the person remains subject to the after-care provisions of Section 117 indefinitely . These provisions include
339-482: A murder mystery play which is the longest-running West End show , it has by far the longest run of any play in the world, with its 29,500th performance having taken place as of February 2024. Contemporary playwrights in the United States are affected by recent declines in theatre attendance. No longer the only outlet for serious drama or entertaining comedies, theatrical productions must use ticket sales as
452-425: A (usually brief) assessment by the RC or his deputy, which, in effect, means any hospital doctor, including psychiatrists but also those based on medical or surgical wards. It lasts up to 72 hours, during which time a further assessment may result in either discharge from the section or detention under section 2 for assessment or section 3 for treatment. Section 5(4) is a nurse's holding power. It can be applied to
565-575: A Commission of the Royal College of Physicians with powers to grant licences to premises housing "lunatics" in London ; justices of the peace were given these powers elsewhere in England and Wales. Failure to gain a licence resulted in a hefty fine. Admission to a "madhouse" required certification signed by a doctor, and lists of detained residents became available for public inspection. This Act
678-400: A Crown Court. Courts can enact either of these sections on the medical recommendation of one Section 12 approved doctor. Both these sections are rarely used in practice. Section 37 is a treatment order, similar in many regards to the civil treatment order under Section 3, and is fairly frequently used. It is applied to persons recently convicted of a serious crime (other than murder), which
791-410: A Section 135 magistrates' order or Section 136 police officers' order is at a place of safety, they are further assessed and, in some cases, a Section 2 assessment order or Section 3 treatment order implemented. Section 131 allows for patients to be voluntarily admitted as an inpatient, and voluntarily remain after other sections cease to apply. Voluntary inpatients may be prevented from leaving by
904-421: A confrontational style and sensibility of drama termed " in-yer-face theatre ". Sierz originally called Kane "the quintessential in-yer-face writer of the [1990s]" but later remarked in 2009 that although he initially "thought she was very typical of the new writing of the middle 1990s", "[t]he further we get away from that in time, the more un-typical she seems to be". Kane's published work consists of five plays,
1017-465: A contemporary setting. In this reworking of the myth of Phaedra's doomed love for her stepson Hippolytus , it is Hippolytus, rather than Phaedra, who takes the central role. It is Hippolytus' emotional cruelty which pushes Phaedra to suicide . Kane reversed classical tradition by showing, rather than describing, violent action on stage. The play contains some of Kane's wittiest and most cynical dialogue. Kane described it as "my comedy". Directed by Kane, it
1130-577: A form of entertainment. ‘Go on, jump over that’, ‘Say that to the bully’, ‘Go on cut yourself’. Sarah was that child, and where some reined her back, others let her go, even encouraged her." He also said that "We all behaved a bit strangely after Sarah's death. It awoke old despairs, and morbidities, and adolescent terrors." The playwright Edward Bond knew Kane personally and had a correspondence with her. Bond has referred to Kane's suicide in various essays he has written about theatre. In an essay from 1999 (revised in 2000) Bond wrote "Sarah Kane had to confront
1243-512: A form of playwright. Outside of the Western world there is Indian classical drama , with one of the oldest known playwrights being Śudraka , whose attributed plays can be dated to the second century BC. The Nāṭya Shāstra , a text on the performing arts from between 500BC-500AD, categorizes playwrights as being among the members of a theatre company, although playwrights were generally the highest in social status, with some being kings. In
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#17327945155741356-412: A formal discharge planning meeting, and provision of personal care if necessary. Section 4 is an emergency order that lasts up to 72 hours. It is implemented by just one doctor and an AMHP, in an emergency in which there is not time to summon a second suitable doctor in order to implement a Section 2 assessment order or Section 3 treatment order. Once in hospital, a further medical recommendation from
1469-514: A hospital, at a police station, or in a person's home. If the two doctors agree that the person has a mental disorder and ought to be detained in hospital in the interest of the patient's own health or safety, or for the protection of others, they complete a medical recommendation form and give this to the AMHP. If the AMHP agrees that there is no viable alternative to detaining the person in hospital, they will complete an application form requesting that
1582-454: A line in [her play] Crave: 'Death is my lover, and he wants to move in.' That's quite a line, isn't it? She felt man's inhumanity to man so profoundly. I believe that's what finally killed her. She couldn't stand the bloody thing any more." Pinter spoke at Kane's memorial and is reported to have just said the following four words: "She was a poet". The artistic director of The Bush Theatre , Dominic Dromgoole , had previously known Kane when she
1695-470: A move to a freer, sometimes lyrical writing style, at times inspired by her reading of the Bible and T. S. Eliot 's The Waste Land . It has four characters, each identified only by a letter of the alphabet. It dispenses with plot and unlike her earlier work, with its highly specific stage directions, gives no indication what actions, if any, the actors should perform on stage, nor does it give any setting for
1808-772: A naturalistic—though troubling—world, the play takes on different, nightmarish dimensions when a soldier, armed with a sniper 's rifle, appears in the room. The narrative ultimately breaks into a series of increasingly disturbing short scenes. Its scenes of anal rape, cannibalism, and other forms of brutality, created one of the biggest theatre scandals in London since Edward Bond 's Saved in 1965. Kane admired Bond's work, and he in turn publicly defended Kane's play and talent. Other dramatists whom Kane particularly liked and who could be seen as influences include Samuel Beckett , Howard Barker , and Georg Büchner , whose play Woyzeck she later directed (Gate Theatre, London 1997). Blasted
1921-419: A person who has "wrought" words, themes, and other elements into a dramatic form—a play. (The homophone with "write" is coincidental.) The first recorded use of the term "playwright" is from 1605, 73 years before the first written record of the term "dramatist". It appears to have been first used in a pejorative sense by Ben Jonson to suggest a mere tradesman fashioning works for the theatre. Jonson uses
2034-508: A physician under section 5(2) or any nurse under section 5(4) for 72 hours before being assessed for commitment through section 3 or section 2 . Part III and other various criminal sections of the Act apply to sentenced prisoners and persons subject to proceedings of the criminal justice System. Although they are invariably implemented by a court, often upon the recommendations of one or more psychiatrists, some of these sections largely mirror
2147-654: A playwright, winning awards for his play The Phoenix at both the New York International Fringe Festival in 1999 and the Route 66 American Playwriting Competition in 2000. Today, theatre companies have new play development programs meant to develop new American voices in playwriting. Many regional theatres have hired dramaturges and literary managers in an effort to showcase various festivals for new work, or bring in playwrights for residencies. Funding through national organizations, such as
2260-413: A psychiatric nurse. It was stated that one of the reasons this was not requested was because it was felt that such a measure could be counter-productive, as Kane was ambivalent towards psychiatric treatment. A review panel that investigated Kane's death recommended that the communication between medical staff be improved by formalising the procedures that related to the risk assessment of patients. However,
2373-505: A rejected lover is not unlike the situation of a prisoner in Dachau ." Cleansed is set in what Kane in her stage directions described as a "university" but which functions more as a torture chamber or concentration camp , overseen by the sadistic Tinker. It places a young woman and her brother, a disturbed boy, a gay couple and a peepshow dancer within this world of extreme cruelty in which declarations of love are viciously tested. It pushes
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#17327945155742486-469: A second doctor would convert the order from a Section 4 emergency order to a Section 2 assessment order. Section 4 emergency orders are not commonly used. Section 5(2) is a doctor's holding power. It can only be used to detain in hospital a person who has consented to admission on an informal basis (i.e. not detained under the Act) but then changed their mind and wishes to leave. It can be implemented following
2599-496: A second opinion to confirm that the treatment being given remains in the person's best interests. A similar safeguard is used for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), although the RC can authorise two ECT treatments in the event of an emergency for people detained under Section 3 treatment orders. ECT may not be given to a refusing patient who has the capacity to refuse it, and may only be given to an incapacitated patient where it does not conflict with any advance directive , decision of
2712-525: A source of income, which has caused many of them to reduce the number of new works being produced. For example, Playwrights Horizons produced only six plays in the 2002–03 seasons, compared with thirty-one in 1973–74. Playwrights commonly encounter difficulties in getting their shows produced and often cannot earn a living through their plays alone, leading them to take up other jobs to supplement their incomes. Many playwrights are also film makers . For instance, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock began his career as
2825-421: A spokesperson from the hospital said that none of these procedures would have prevented her death. After the inquest Sarah Kane's father, Peter Kane, considered taking legal action against the hospital for " criminal negligence ". He stated that "The hospital has admitted there was not enough communication between the doctors of these departments and the nurses" and that "I am not seeking financial compensation for
2938-562: A stricter interpretation of Aristotle, as this long-lost work came to light in the late 15th century. The neoclassical ideal, which was to reach its apogee in France during the 17th century, dwelled upon the unities , of action, place, and time. This meant that the playwright had to construct the play so that its "virtual" time would not exceed 24 hours, that it would be restricted to a single setting, and that there would be no subplots. Other terms, such as verisimilitude and decorum, circumscribed
3051-409: A suicide note from her, stating that he was not to enter her room. Ignoring this request, Gibson entered Kane's room where he found her to be unconscious. Kane was then taken to London's King's College Hospital where she was resuscitated and assessed by two psychiatrists. One of the psychiatrists, Nigel Tunstall, said that "it was very clearly the case that [Kane] was intending to kill herself and she
3164-577: Is Hans Sachs (1494–1576) who wrote 198 dramatic works. In England, The Second Shepherds' Play of the Wakefield Cycle is the best known early farce. However, farce did not appear independently in England until the 16th century with the work of John Heywood (1497–1580). Playwright William Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted. Most playwrights of
3277-511: Is a healthcare professional who is competent to become responsible for the treatment of mentally disordered people compulsorily detained under the Act. A clinician must complete special training and demonstrate competence in their professional portfolio in order to be approved as an AC. Until the 2007 amendments , they would almost exclusively have been a consultant psychiatrist, but other professionals, such as social workers, clinical psychologists and nurse specialists, are being encouraged to take on
3390-702: Is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It covers the reception, care and treatment of mentally disordered people, the management of their property and other related matters, forming part of the mental health law for the people in England and Wales . In particular, it provides the legislation by which people diagnosed with a mental disorder can be detained in a hospital or police custody and have their disorder assessed or treated against their wishes , informally known as " sectioning ". Its use
3503-406: Is an assessment order and lasts up to 28 days; it cannot be renewed. It can be instituted following an assessment under the Act by two doctors and an AMHP. At least one of these doctors must be a Section 12 approved doctor. The other must either have had previous acquaintance with the person under assessment, or also be a Section 12 approved doctor. This latter rule can be broken in an emergency where
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3616-409: Is included in the 72 hours of any subsequent Section 5(2). The Care Quality Commission consider it to be extremely poor practice to allow a section 5(2) to simply "lapse". There is a clear duty on the part of the patient's RC to make a decision as to whether any further action, such as detention under section 2 for assessment or detention under section 3 for treatment should be implemented, or whether
3729-449: Is possible to see such a future for theatre. Her plays present the need for such a theatre." In 2021 Bond wrote "[Kane] had personal problems but she was destroyed by the theatre industry. Drama had been her umbilical lifeline but the theatre industry tuned it into the rope with which she hanged herself." Kane originally wanted to be a poet, but decided that she was unable to convey her thoughts and feelings through poetry. She wrote that she
3842-507: Is punishable by imprisonment. Thus it represents an alternative to a mentally disordered person being punished by imprisonment or otherwise. It is enacted by the Crown Court or a magistrates' court on the recommendation of two approved doctors. However, the court is able to exercise discretion in this regard and can impose a prison sentence despite medical recommendations for Section 37. A person detained under Section 37 can appeal to
3955-561: Is reviewed and regulated by the Care Quality Commission . The Act was significantly amended by the Mental Health Act 2007 . A white paper proposing changes to the act was published in 2021 following an independent review of the act by Simon Wessely . It was confirmed on 17 July 2024 that a new mental health act would be legislated for in the forthcoming session of Parliament. The Madhouses Act 1774 created
4068-506: Is sometimes as a means to avoid the threat of detention under sections of this act by a medical doctor. These sections are implemented following an assessment of the person suspected to have a mental disorder. These assessments can be performed by various professional groups, depending upon the particular section of the Act being considered. These professional groups include AMHPs, Section 12 approved doctors, other doctors, registered mental health nurses (RMNs) and police officers. Section 2
4181-542: Is still useful to playwrights today is the " French scene ", which is a scene in a play where the beginning and end are marked by a change in the makeup of the group of characters onstage rather than by the lights going up or down or the set being changed. Notable playwrights: Greek theater was alive and flourishing on the island of Crete. During the Cretan Renaissance two notable Greek playwrights Georgios Chortatzis and Vitsentzos Kornaros were present in
4294-621: Is the exception to the rule, occurring in around 5% of cases, when the Tribunal judges that the conditions for detention are not met. Part II of the Act applies to any mentally disordered person who is not subject to the Criminal Justice System. The vast majority of people detained in psychiatric hospitals in England and Wales are detained under one of the civil sections of the Act. If a clinician consents, patients may choose to be treated as voluntary inpatient . This choice
4407-615: Is the rape camps in Bosnia and the logical conclusion to the way society expects men to behave is war." Blasted was produced again in 2001 at the Royal Court. The assistant director of this production, Joseph Hill-Gibbins , suggests that "The argument is made through form, through the shifts in styles in Blasted . That's how she constructs the argument, by taking this setting in an English Northern industrial town and suddenly transporting
4520-565: Is thought by most psychiatrists to cover schizophrenia , anorexia nervosa , major depression , bipolar disorder and other similar illnesses, learning disability and personality disorders . Most people are subject to the Act, and section 141 even makes provision for members of the House of Commons , until it was repealed by the Mental Health (Discrimination) Act 2013 . In 1983–84, the House of Lords Committee for Privileges accepted
4633-494: The Ancient Greeks . William Shakespeare is amongst the most famous playwrights in literature, both in England and across the world. The word "play" is from Middle English pleye , from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsperson or builder (as in a wheelwright or cartwright ). The words combine to indicate
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4746-406: The Ancient Greeks . These early plays were for annual Athenian competitions among play writers held around the 5th century BC. Such notables as Aeschylus , Sophocles , Euripides , and Aristophanes established forms still relied on by their modern counterparts. We have complete texts extant by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides . The origins of Athenian tragedy remain obscure, though by
4859-589: The London Film Festival in October 1995 and televised by Channel 4 in 1997. The film is directed by Vincent O'Connell and stars Ewen Bremner , Marcia Rose , Yemi Ajibade and James Bannon. Kane was then commissioned by the Gate Theatre , London, to write a play inspired by a classic text. Phaedra's Love was loosely based on the classical dramatist Seneca 's play Phaedra , but given
4972-624: The National Endowment for the Arts and the Theatre Communications Group , encouraged the partnerships of professional theatre companies and emerging playwrights. Playwrights will often have a cold reading of a script in an informal sitdown setting, which allows them to evaluate their own plays and the actors performing them. Cold reading means that the actors haven't rehearsed the work, or may be seeing it for
5085-594: The Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh in 1998. The play was performed under the pseudonym of Marie Kelvedon, partly because the notion amused Kane, but also so that the play could be viewed without the taint of its author's notorious reputation. "Marie" was Kane's middle name and she was brought up in the town of Kelvedon Hatch in Essex. Crave marks a break from the on-stage violence of Kane's previous works and
5198-507: The " psychotic mind". According to Greig, the title derives from the time—4:48 a.m.—when Kane, in her depressed state, frequently woke in the morning. In 1998, Kane was included in the Evening Standard ' s list of 'London's Top 100 women', which was a list of "The most influential women in the capital". In the same year she was also featured in the newspaper's list of "London's fifty brightest young things". In 1999 she
5311-405: The 1959 Act did not provide clarity as to whether a legal order to detain a mentally disordered person in a hospital also empowered the hospital to impose medical treatment against the person's wishes. It had become clear by the 1970s that a specific legal framework for medical treatments such as psychiatric medications , electroconvulsive therapy and psychosurgery was needed in order to balance
5424-449: The 4th century BCE, Aristotle wrote his Poetics , in which he analyzed the principle of action or praxis as the basis for tragedy. He then considered elements of drama: plot ( μύθος mythos ), character ( ἔθος ethos ), thought ( dianoia ), diction ( lexis ), music ( melodia ), and spectacle ( opsis ). Since the myths on which Greek tragedy were based were widely known, plot had to do with
5537-543: The 5th century it was institutionalised in competitions ( agon ) held as part of festivities celebrating Dionysos (the god of wine and fertility ). As contestants in the City Dionysia's competition (the most prestigious of the festivals to stage drama), playwrights were required to present a tetralogy of plays (though the individual works were not necessarily connected by story or theme), which usually consisted of three tragedies and one satyr play. For
5650-571: The Brunel ward of the King's College Hospital, which was a general ward and not a psychiatric wing. While in hospital, she was visited by her agent Mel Kenyon. Kane told Kenyon that her attempted suicide by overdose had been unsuccessful because she had eaten pizza. Kenyon recalled that when she visited Kane "She was extraordinary. She looked happy, healthy. She was very funny. She was brimming with self confidence. I took her 200 cigarettes which we hid under
5763-555: The First-Tier Tribunal (Mental Health) outlined below. Mental Health Review Tribunals (MHRTs) hear appeals against detention under the Act. Their members are appointed by the Lord Chancellor and include a doctor , a lawyer and a lay person (i.e. neither a doctor nor a lawyer). Detained persons have the right to be represented at MHRTs by a solicitor . Discharge from hospital as a result of an MHRT hearing
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#17327945155745876-561: The Middle Ages, the earliest of which is The Play of the Greenwood by Adam de la Halle in 1276. It contains satirical scenes and folk material such as faeries and other supernatural occurrences. Farces also rose dramatically in popularity after the 13th century. The majority of these plays come from France and Germany and are similar in tone and form, emphasizing sex and bodily excretions. The best known playwright of farces
5989-765: The Peace and lasted one year. Thereafter, detention could be renewed at regular intervals by submission of a medical report to the Lunacy Commission. The Mental Deficiency Act 1913 renamed the Lunacy Commission the "Board of Control" and increased the scope of its powers. The functions of the Board of Control were subsequently altered by the Mental Treatment Act 1930 and the National Health Service Act 1946 . The Lunacy Act 1890
6102-528: The Policing and Crime Act 2017. The Act is divided into eleven "parts" (one repealed): I Application of the Act II Compulsory admission to hospital and guardianship III Patients concerned in criminal proceedings or under sentence IV Consent to treatment 4A Treatment of community patients not recalled to hospital V Mental Health Review Tribunal VI Removal and return of patients within
6215-611: The Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the end of the 17th century, classical ideas were in vogue. As a result, critics of the time mostly rated Shakespeare below John Fletcher and Ben Jonson. This period saw the first professional woman playwright, Aphra Behn . As a reaction to the decadence of Charles II era productions, sentimental comedy grew in popularity. Playwrights like Colley Cibber and Richard Steele believed that humans were inherently good but capable of being led astray. The Italian Renaissance brought about
6328-587: The United Kingdom VII Management of property and affairs of patients (repealed) VIII Miscellaneous functions of Local Authorities and the Secretary of State IX Offences X Miscellaneous and supplementary Each of these parts are divided into "sections", which are numbered continuously throughout the Act. In total, there are currently 202 sections in the Act that are in force. The act lays out various procedures to detain members of
6441-413: The United Kingdom .) A section 12 approved doctor is a medically qualified doctor who has been recognised under section 12(2) of the Act. They have specific expertise in mental disorder and have additionally received training in the application of the Act. They are usually psychiatrists , although some are general practitioners (GPs) who have a special interest in psychiatry. An Approved Clinician (AC)
6554-467: The action to a war zone." The critical realism that the first scene sets up is "literally blasted apart" in Scene Two. The critic Ken Urban says that "for Kane, hell is not metaphysical: it is hyperreal, reality magnified". Skin was an eleven-minute film written for Channel 4 , a British TV station, depicting a violent relationship between a black woman and a racist skinhead . It was first shown at
6667-557: The advice of the law lords that the statute would prevail against any privilege of Parliament or of peerage . An Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) is defined in the Act as a practitioner who has extensive knowledge and experience of working with people with mental disorders. Until the 2007 amendments , this role was restricted to social workers , but other professionals such as nurses, clinical psychologists and occupational therapists are now permitted to perform this role. AMHPs receive specialised training in mental disorder and
6780-420: The ancient Greeks, playwriting involved poïesis , "the act of making". This is the source of the English word poet . Despite Chinese Theatre having performers dated back to the 6th century BC with You Meng , their perspective of theatre was such that plays had no other role than "performer" or "actor", but given that the performers were also the ones who invented their performances, they could be considered
6893-490: The application of mental health law, particularly the Mental Health Act. Training involves both academic work and apprenticeship and lasts one year. The AMHP has a key role in the organisation and application of Mental Health Act assessments and provides a valuable non-medical perspective in ensuring legal process and accountability. ( For further aspects on the role of the AMHP see also: Involuntary commitment in
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#17327945155747006-404: The arrangement and selection of existing material. Character was determined by choice and by action. Tragedy is mimesis —"the imitation of an action that is serious". He developed his notion of hamartia , or tragic flaw, an error in judgment by the main character or protagonist , which provides the basis for the "conflict-driven" play. There were also a number of secular performances staged in
7119-400: The bed. We talked about everything under the sun. We did talk about suicide. We did talk about God. We did talk about plays. We did talk about friendship.[…] And then after I had given her the fags I just kissed her on her forehead and I said 'I love you' and she said 'I love you too' and that was the last time I saw her." Shortly after 3:30 a.m. on 20 February a nurse discovered that Kane
7232-520: The circumstances that resulted in Kane's death. The coroner delivered a verdict of death by suicide. The coroner commented that Kane "was plagued with mental anguish and tormented by thoughts of suicide" and that she "made her choice and she made it at a time when she was suffering from a depressive illness [and while] the balance of her mind was disturbed". The inquest heard how Kane had not been observed by nurses between 2am and 3:30am on 20 February, which
7345-504: The civil sections of the Act. Section 35 and Section 36 are similar in their powers to Section 2 assessment orders and Section 3 treatment orders respectively, but are used for persons awaiting trial for a serious crime and provide courts with an alternative to remanding a mentally disordered person in prison. The order for Section 35 can be made by the Crown Court or a magistrates' court , whilst Section 36 can be enacted only by
7458-462: The death of my daughter. I want answers as to why she was not given proper care in order that this does not happen to somebody else's daughter." It has been reported that in response to Kane's death there was a minute's silence held on radio in Germany and that theatres in the country dimmed their lights as a mark of respect. Kane's agent, Mel Kenyon, stated that "I don't think she was depressed, It
7571-406: The despair? But despair also engenders knowledge in some way, and that knowledge fuels your understanding of the world and therefore your writing, but at the same time you want to exorcise the despair. She tried to weigh it up all the time." Whilst talking about how her play Phaedra's Love deals with the theme of depression, Kane said that "[t]hrough being very, very low comes an ability to live in
7684-459: The essay Gordon commented on the negative impact of how "our culture romanticises creativity and depression". He wrote that "The tragic suicide of the young playwright Sarah Kane is already finding its place in the mythology of the creative depressive: the artist - young or old, but preferably young - who creates public beauty out of personal suffering." He concluded his piece writing that "Only those who knew Sarah Kane personally can mourn her. Perhaps
7797-517: The first time, and usually, the technical requirements are minimal. The O'Neill Festival offers summer retreats for young playwrights to develop their work with directors and actors. Playwriting collectives like 13P and Orbiter 3 gather members together to produce, rather than develop, new works. The idea of the playwriting collective is in response to plays being stuck in the development process and never advancing to production. Mental Health Act 1983 The Mental Health Act 1983 (c. 20)
7910-406: The hospital managers detain the person. The person will then be transported to hospital and the period of assessment begins. Treatment, such as medication, can be given against the person's wishes under Section 2 assessment orders, as observation of response to treatment constitutes part of the assessment process. Section 3 is a treatment order and can initially last up to six months; if renewed,
8023-503: The implacable are death, a lavatory and shoelaces. They are her comment on the meaningless of our theatre and our lives, and on our own false gods." In 2000 Bond wrote that "Her suicide has to be understood. She was the most gifted dramatist of her generation. It is said that she killed herself because she was clinically depressed. What does that mean of a writer? Not that her death had a cause, but that her life had no inducement. She saw no future for theatre and so none for herself. But it
8136-406: The implacable. You can postpone the confrontation only when you are certain that at some time it will take place. Otherwise it will slip away. Everything Sarah Kane did had authority. If she thought that perhaps the confrontation could not take place in our theatre, because it was losing the understanding and the means – she could not risk waiting. Instead she staged it elsewhere. Her means to confront
8249-490: The latter part of the 16th century. The plays of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing , Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Friedrich Schiller , and other Sturm und Drang playwrights inspired a growing faith in feeling and instinct as guides to moral behavior and were part of the German romanticism movement. Aleksandr Ostrovsky was Russia's first professional playwright). Author and playwright Agatha Christie wrote The Moustrap ,
8362-527: The limits of what can be realised in the theatre: stage directions include "a sunflower pushes through the floor and grows above their heads" and "the rats carry Carl's feet away". The play was presented at the National Theatre in London in 2016, the first time any of Kane's work had been performed there. A change in critical opinion occurred with Kane's fourth play, Crave , which was directed by Vicky Featherstone and presented by Paines Plough at
8475-414: The mentally disordered person. Thus a person's Nearest Relative under the Act is not necessarily their "next of kin". A mentally disordered person is not usually able to choose their Nearest Relative but under some circumstances they can apply to a County Court to have a Nearest Relative replaced. In practice, such applications are more commonly made by Social Services Departments. The Nearest Relative has
8588-519: The moment because there isn't anything else. What do you do if you feel the truth is behind you? Many people feel depression is about emptiness but actually it's about being so full that everything cancels itself out. You can't have faith without doubt, and what are you left with when you can't have love without hate?" In the early hours of February 17, 1999, Kane attempted suicide in her Brixton flat by consuming 50 sleeping pills and over 150 antidepressant tablets. Her flatmate, David Gibson, awoke and found
8701-411: The most important New York premieres of the decade". In December 2011, the playwright David Eldridge wrote that "For any playwright of my generation the spirit and experiential theatre of Sarah Kane casts a long shadow. Sarah believed passionately that form ought to be expressive and carry meaning as powerfully as the story of a play. Blasted markedly influenced my adaptation of the film Festen for
8814-404: The next order lasts up to six months and each subsequent order lasts up to one year. It is instituted in the same manner as Section 2, following an assessment by two doctors and an AMHP. One major difference, however, is that for Section 3 treatment orders, the doctors must be clear about the diagnosis and proposed treatment plan, and be confident that "appropriate medical treatment" is available for
8927-412: The patient should be regraded to "informal" legal status. Section 135 is a magistrates ' order. It can be applied for by an AMHP in the best interests of a person who is thought to be mentally disordered, but who is refusing to allow mental health professionals into their residence for the purposes of a Mental Health Act assessment. Section 135 magistrates' orders give police officers the right to enter
9040-407: The patient. The definition of "appropriate medical treatment" is wide and may constitute basic nursing care alone. Most treatments for mental disorder can be given under Section 3 treatment orders, including injections of psychotropic medication such as antipsychotics . However, after three months of detention, either the person has to consent to their treatment or an independent doctor has to give
9153-407: The period typically collaborated with others at some point, as critics agree Shakespeare did, mostly early and late in his career. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. In England, after the interregnum , and Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, there was a move toward neoclassical dramaturgy. Between
9266-460: The person is not known to any available doctors and two Section 12 approved doctors cannot be found. In any case, the two doctors must not be employed in the same service, to ensure independence (this 'rule' was removed in the 2007 MHA amendment). Commonly, in order to satisfy this requirement, a psychiatrist will perform a joint assessment with a general practitioner (GP). A Mental Health Act assessment can take place anywhere, but commonly occurs in
9379-469: The play. As such, it may have been influenced by Martin Crimp 's 1997 play Attempts on Her Life , which similarly dispenses with setting and overall narrative . Kane had written of her admiration for Crimp's formal innovations. The work is highly intertextual . At the time, Kane regarded it as the "most despairing" of her plays, written when she had lost "faith in love". Her last play, 4.48 Psychosis ,
9492-527: The playwright David Edgar . She praised Jeremy Weller's Mad as "the one piece of theatre that changed my life". Kane wrote consistently throughout her adult life. For a year she was writer-in-residence for Paines Plough , a theatre company promoting new writing, where she actively encouraged other writers. Before that, she had worked briefly as literary associate for the Bush Theatre , London. Kane struggled with severe depression for many years and
9605-612: The power to discharge the mentally disordered person from some sections of the Act. Hospital Managers represent the management of the NHS Trust or independent hospital and have the responsibility for a detained patient. On their behalf, the non-executive members of the board of the relevant National Health Service Trust and appointed lay 'Associate Managers' may hear appeals from patients against their detention, Community Treatment Order and upon those detentions being renewed and extended. Cases are heard in similar settings to those heard by
9718-403: The property and to take the person to a " place of safety ", which is locally defined and usually either a police station or a psychiatric hospital ward. Section 136 is a similar order that allows a police officer to take a person whom they consider to be mentally disordered to a "place of safety" as defined above. This only applies to a person found in a public place. Once a person subject to
9831-588: The public, inpatients, force them to take drugs, and perform medical procedures on them without consent. The term "mental disorder" is very loosely defined under the Act, in contrast to legislation in other countries such as Australia and Canada . Under the Act, mental disorder is defined as "any disorder or disability of mind". The concept of mental disorder as defined by the Act does not necessarily correspond to medical categories of mental disorder such as those outlined in ICD-10 or DSM-IV . However, mental disorder
9944-471: The rest of us could be less in thrall to the romantic ideas of which her death is prey and think more of the thousands of “nameless” suicides whose deaths each year shames us, as individuals and as a society." The playwright Harold Pinter knew Kane personally and remarked how he was not surprised to hear the news of her suicide: "She talked about it a great deal. She just said it was on the cards, you know, and I had to say, 'Come on! For God's sake!' I remember
10057-548: The rights of detained persons with society as a whole. The Mental Health Act 1983 was formally approved by the monarch on 9 May 1983 and came into effect on 30 September that year. It has been amended many times: notably in 1995, 2001 (via remedial order, issued on the grounds of incompatibility with the European Convention of Human Rights under the Human Rights Act 1998 section 4), 2007 and 2017 via
10170-603: The role. Once an AC takes over the care of a specific patient, they are known as the Responsible Clinician (RC) for that patient. A Nearest Relative is a relative of a mentally disordered person. There is a strict hierarchy of types of relationship that needs to be followed in order to determine a particular person's Nearest Relative: husband, wife, or civil partner; son or daughter; father or mother; brother or sister; grandparent; grandchild; uncle or aunt; nephew or niece; lastly, an unrelated person who resides with
10283-415: The same group of patients as those that may be detained under section 5(2) as outlined above. It is implemented by a first or second level Mental Health or Learning Disability Nurse . Section 5(4) lasts up to 6 hours and ends at the time the patient is seen by the doctor assessing the patient under Section 5(2), irrespective of the outcome of the doctor's assessment. Time spent by a patient under section 5(4)
10396-543: The short film Skin , and two newspaper articles for The Guardian . Born in Brentwood, Essex , and raised by evangelical parents, Kane was a committed Christian in adolescence. Later, however, she rejected those beliefs. After attending Shenfield High School she studied drama at Bristol University , graduating in 1992, and went on to take an MA course in play writing at the University of Birmingham , led by
10509-537: The stage ". Playwright Robert Askins, who received a 2015 Tony Award nomination for Best Play for Hand to God , has cited Kane as a major inspiration. In Ukraine, director Roza Sarkisyan chose to produce an excerpt of one of Kane's plays for the British Council in 2017, and cites Kane as an inspiration. Playwright The earliest playwrights in Western literature with surviving works are
10622-557: The subject matter significantly. For example, verisimilitude limits of the unities. Decorum fitted proper protocols for behavior and language on stage. In France, contained too many events and actions, thus, violating the 24-hour restriction of the unity of time. Neoclassicism never had as much traction in England, and Shakespeare 's plays are directly opposed to these models, while in Italy, improvised and bawdy commedia dell'arte and opera were more popular forms. One structural unit that
10735-441: The word in his Epigram 49, which is thought to refer to John Marston or Thomas Dekker : Jonson described himself as a poet, not a playwright, since plays during that time were written in meter and so were regarded as the province of poets. This view was held as late as the early 19th century. The term "playwright" later again lost this negative connotation. The earliest playwrights in Western literature with surviving works are
10848-577: Was "without doubt the most performed new writer on the international circuit". Fellow playwright Mark Ravenhill has said her plays "have almost certainly achieved canonical status". At one point in Germany, there were 17 simultaneous productions of her work. In November 2010, the theatre critic Ben Brantley of the New York Times described the SoHo Rep's "shattering production" of Kane's Blasted (which had opened two years previously) as "one of
10961-478: Was attracted to the stage because "theatre has no memory, which makes it the most existential of the arts. No doubt that is why I keep coming back in the hope that someone in a dark room somewhere will show me an image that burns itself into my mind". Kane's first play was Blasted . Kane wrote the first two scenes while a student in Birmingham, where they were given a public performance. The agent Mel Kenyon
11074-470: Was compelled to provide an asylum for "pauper lunatics", who were removed from workhouses into the aforementioned asylums. The Lunacy Commission was established to monitor asylums, their admissions, treatments and discharges. Both these acts were repealed by the Lunacy Act 1890 . This introduced "reception orders", authorising detention in asylums. These orders had to be made by a specialised Justice of
11187-454: Was completed shortly before she died and was performed in 2000, at the Royal Court, directed by James Macdonald. This, Kane's shortest and most fragmented theatrical work, dispenses with plot and character, and no indication is given as to how many actors were intended to voice the play. Written at a time when Kane was suffering from severe depression, it has been described by her fellow-playwright and friend David Greig as having as its subject
11300-417: Was deeper than that. I think she felt something more like existential despair – which is what makes many artists tick." Kenyon's words were challenged by playwright Anthony Neilson who in a letter to The Guardian wrote that "No one in despair “ticks”" and that "Truth didn't kill her, lies did: the lies of worthlessness and futility whispered by an afflicted brain". Neilson suggested that Kane's depression
11413-485: Was directed at "certain people in the profession" who he claimed to have taken advantage of her: "There were a lot of timid souls who dared not, who forced Sarah to dare on their behalf. She enacted their fantasies of outrage for them. There is always one child in the class who will do the things others fear to. That is what marks them out, their courage, and their will. The good friends of that child will help her to harness it for her own benefit. The bad friends will use it as
11526-500: Was fiercely attacked in the British press. Blasted was, however, praised by fellow playwrights Martin Crimp , Harold Pinter (who became a friend), Caryl Churchill , who considered it "rather a tender play". It was later seen to be making parallels between domestic violence and the war in Bosnia , and between emotional and physical violence. Kane said, "The logical conclusion of the attitude that produces an isolated rape in England
11639-576: Was first performed at the Gate Theatre in 1996. Cleansed premiered at the Royal Court's theatre downstairs in April 1998, and was directed by James Macdonald . This was at the time the most expensive production in the Royal Court's history. Kane stated that the play was partly inspired from reading a part of Roland Barthes 's work A Lover’s Discourse where "[Barthes] says the situation of
11752-664: Was in the audience and subsequently represented Kane, suggesting she should show her work to the Royal Court Theatre in London. The completed play, directed by James Macdonald , opened at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in 1995. The action is set in a room of a luxurious hotel in Leeds where Ian, a racist and foul-mouthed middle-aged journalist, first tries to seduce and later rapes Cate, an innocent, simple-minded young woman. From its opening in
11865-645: Was later considered ineffectual and was repealed by the Madhouses Act 1828 , itself repealed shortly afterwards by the Madhouses Act 1832 . These Acts altered the composition of the Commission in several ways, such as including barristers in addition to doctors. The Lunacy Act 1845 and the County Asylums Act 1845 together gave mental hospitals or " asylums " the authority to detain "lunatics, idiots and persons of unsound mind". Each county
11978-417: Was not in her hospital bed. The nurse forced open the door to the Brunel ward's toilets where she found Kane's dead body. Kane had hung herself by her neck with her own shoelaces from the hook on the inside of the toilet door. She was 28 years old when she died. At the inquest into her death, it was stated that she probably died within three minutes. An inquest was held at Southwark coroner's court to determine
12091-674: Was one of the recipients of the V Europe Prize Theatrical Realities awarded to the Royal Court Theatre (with Mark Ravenhill , Jez Butterworth , Conor McPherson , Martin McDonagh ). Though Kane's work never played to large audiences in the UK and was at first dismissed by many newspaper critics, her plays have been widely performed in Europe, Australia and South America. In 2005, the theatre director Dominic Dromgoole wrote that she
12204-485: Was repealed following World War II by the Mental Health Act 1959 . This Act abolished the Board of Control, and aimed to provide informal treatment for the majority of people with mental disorders, whilst providing a legal framework so that people could, if necessary, be detained in a hospital against their will. It also aimed to make local councils responsible for the care of mentally disordered people who did not require hospital admission. However, like its predecessors,
12317-401: Was surprised and upset that she had not succeeded" and that she "said she had no intention of killing herself while she remained at King's College Hospital, but in abstract terms she said that at some point she would certainly kill herself." Because of this, Dr Tunstall ordered that Kane should be detained under the Mental Health Act if she attempted to leave the hospital. Kane was admitted to
12430-421: Was the result of "crazy and irregular tides of chemicals that crash through the brain" and that "Far from enhancing talent these neurological storms waste time, narrow vision and frequently lead, as here, to that most tragic, most selfish actions". Eight days after Kane's death The Independent published an essay written by Paul Gordon titled "You don't have to be suicidal to be an artist, and it doesn't help". In
12543-486: Was the theatre's literary associate. Dromgoole wrote that Kane's death "left a long black cloud hanging over many. A huge amount of anger was felt. Anger at her for robbing us of what we so loved. Anger at those who maltreated her. […] anger directed inward for failing to help her." Dromgoole wrote that he was angry with how Kane had been mistreated by others. He stated that this anger was not aimed at "the press" who he saw as being "held up so easily as scapegoats" but rather it
12656-497: Was the timeframe when she left her room in the hospital and went to the toilets where she killed herself. One of the psychiatrists who assessed Kane, Dr Nigel Tunstall, told the inquest how he "took it as read" that Kane would be "constantly observed" by nurses because of the notes from psychiatrist Dr Sedza Mujic who had also assessed Kane. However, nurses were unaware that Kane needed continuous supervision. Dr Tunstall also wrote in his notes that Kane did not require one-to-one care from
12769-498: Was twice voluntarily admitted to the Maudsley Hospital in London. She took antidepressants with reluctance. According to Kane's agent, Mel Kenyon, Kane told her "she didn't like taking pills because they numbed her response to the world, which is, of course, what they're supposed to do. But as an artist, it's extraordinarily difficult if your responsive level is made less intense. What do you do? Take pills and take away
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