Crave (play)

Last updated
Crave
Written by Sarah Kane
CharactersC, M, B and A
Date premiered13 August 1998 (1998-08-13)
Place premiered Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
Original languageEnglish
SettingNeutral

Crave is a one-act play by British playwright Sarah Kane. It was first performed in 1998 by the theatre company Paines Plough, with which Kane was writer-in-residence for the year, at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. The play was initially presented under the pseudonym Marie Kelvedon; Kane used a pseudonym to avoid the distraction of her reputation for graphic staged violence from her previous works. Crave was Kane's fourth play. It is dedicated by the author to Mark Ravenhill. [1]

Contents

Structure

The play reflects a stylistic departure from Kane's previous works, using a non-linear, poetic style, and is notable for its lack of staged violence that had been a hallmark of the author's previous work; this style is continued in her next and final work, 4.48 Psychosis. The dialogue is intertextual, and often it is unclear whom each line is addressed to. Much of the delivery of the text is left up to directorial interpretation.

Characters

In the script of Crave Kane does not provide context, stage directions or clear descriptions of the play's four characters: A, B, C, and M.

However, Kane in an interview revealed the meanings behind the naming of the characters in the play:

"A, B, C and M to me do have very specific meanings, which I am prepared to tell you: which is A was (A is many things) which is the Author, Abuser (because they are the same thing: author and abuser). Aleister as in Aleister Crowley, who wrote some interesting books which some of you might like to read. Antichrist. My brother came up with Arsehole, which I thought was quite good. And there was also the actor who I originally wrote it for who was called Andrew. So that was how A came about. M was simply Mother. B was Boy. And C was Child. But I didn't want to write those things down because then I thought then they'll get fixed in those things forever and never ever change." [2]

The gender of the characters is only identifiable from context within the play. In the same interview Kane explained:

"To me, A was always an older man; M was always an older woman; B was always an younger man and C was always a young woman. I decided not to specify it; I thought there were things the characters said which made it very clear. For example, it would be odd if the man said "When I wake I think my period must have started." That would be very strange. Also it would also be very strange if a man kept on talking about how much he wanted a baby. But, on the other hand, yes it could be done." [2]

Themes and allusions

Crave continues the theme of pain in love that Kane had explored with previous plays, but is stylistically a departure. The play contains several dark themes, presented as issues haunting the four characters. These themes include rape, incest, pedophilia, anorexia, drug addiction, mental instability, murder, and suicide.

Kane incorporates numerous literary allusions in the text of the play, especially to The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. She also makes several references to biblical scripture, especially through the character of "A".

"Marie Kelvedon"

The pseudonym "Marie Kelvedon" was based on the village of Kelvedon Hatch, where Kane grew up. Kane included the following fictitious biography in the programme notes:

Marie Kelvedon is twenty-five. She grew up in Germany in British Forces accommodation and returned to Britain at sixteen to complete her schooling. She was sent down from St Hilda's College, Oxford, after her first term, for an act of unspeakable Dadaism in the college dining hall. She has had her short stories published in various European literary magazines and has a volume of poems Onzuiver ('Impure') [3] published in Belgium and Holland. Her Edinburgh Fringe Festival debut was in 1996, a spontaneous happening through a serving hatch to an audience of one. Since leaving Holloway she has worked as a mini-cab driver, a roadie with the Manic Street Preachers and as a continuity announcer for BBC Radio World Service. She now lives in Cambridgeshire with her cat, Grotowski. [4]

The lyrics to Icelandic singer Björk's song "An Echo, A Stain", released on the album Vespertine in 2001, are based on this play.

Related Research Articles

Carol Kane American actress and comedian

Carolyn Laurie Kane is an American actress and comedian. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as Hester Street, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, Annie Hall, and The Princess Bride. She appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s, as Simka Gravas, the wife of Latka, the character played by Andy Kaufman, winning two Emmy Awards for her work. She has played the character of Madame Morrible in the musical Wicked, both in touring productions and on Broadway from 2005 to 2014. From 2015 to 2020, she was a main cast member on the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, in which she played Lillian Kaushtupper.

Bill Finger American comic strip and comic book writer

Milton Finger, known professionally and personally as Bill Finger, was an American comic strip and comic book writer best known as the creator, with Bob Kane, of the DC Comics character Batman, and the co-architect of the series' development, who mostly worked as his ghostwriter. Although Finger did not receive contemporaneous credit for his hand in the development of Batman, Kane acknowledged Finger's contributions years after Finger's death.

Sarah Kane English playwright

Sarah Kane 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.

Britt Ekland Swedish actress and singer

Britt Ekland is a Swedish actress and singer. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in William Friedkin's The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), Machine Gun McCain (1969) and the British crime film Get Carter (1971), which established her as a movie sex symbol. She also starred in the British cult horror film The Wicker Man (1973) and appeared as a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).

Jennifer Lien American actress

Jennifer Anne Lien is an American actress, best known for playing the alien Kes on the television series Star Trek: Voyager.

JT LeRoy

Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy, or simply JT LeRoy is a literary persona created in the 1990s by American writer Laura Albert. LeRoy was presented as the author of three books of fiction, which were purportedly semi-autobiographical accounts by a teenage boy of his experiences of poverty, drug use, and emotional and sexual abuse in his childhood and adolescence from rural West Virginia to California. Albert wrote these works, and communicated with people in the persona of LeRoy via phone and e-mail. Following the release of the first novel Sarah, Albert's sibling-in-law Savannah Knoop began to make public appearances as the supposed writer. The works attracted considerable literary and celebrity attention, and the authenticity of LeRoy has been a subject of debate, even as details of the creation came to light in the 2000s.

4.48 Psychosis is the final play by British playwright Sarah Kane. It was her last work, first staged at the Royal Court's Jerwood Theatre Upstairs on 23 June 2000, directed by James Macdonald, nearly one and a half years after Kane's death on 20 February 1999. The play has no explicit characters or stage directions; this continues the style of her previous production entitled Crave. Stage productions of the play vary greatly, therefore, with between one and several actors in performance; the original production featured three actors. According to Kane's friend and fellow-playwright David Greig, the title of the play derives from the time, 4:48 a.m., when Kane, in her depressed state, often woke.

<i>Blasted</i> Play by Sarah Kane

Blasted is the first play by the British author Sarah Kane. It was first performed in 1995 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London.

Regina Hall American actress

Regina Lee Hall is an American actress. She has appeared in various television series, including Ally McBeal (2001–2002), Law & Order: LA (2010–2011), Grandfathered (2016), and Black Monday (2019–present). Her film roles include starring in the Scary Movie film series (2000–2006), The Best Man (1999) and its 2013 sequel, Think Like a Man (2012) and its 2014 sequel, About Last Night (2014), Vacation (2015), Girls Trip (2017), The Hate U Give (2018), and Little (2019).

Laura Albert American author

Laura Victoria Albert is an American author of writings that include works credited to the literary persona JT LeRoy, whom Albert described as an "avatar", saying she was able to write things as LeRoy that she could not have said as Laura Albert. Albert was born and raised in Brooklyn. She has also used the names Emily Frasier and Speedie, and published other works as Laura Victoria and Gluttenberg. Albert was sued for fraud when she signed a film option contract with her pseudonym; a jury found against her. The damages to be paid to the film company were settled out of court.

<i>The View from Saturday</i>

The View from Saturday is a children's novel by E. L. Konigsburg, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers in 1996. It won the 1997 Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature, the author's second Medal.

Kelvedon Hatch Human settlement in England

Kelvedon Hatch is a village in civil parish of Kelvedon Hatch, in the Borough of Brentwood in south Essex, England. It is situated just north of Pilgrims Hatch, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north of Brentwood and is surrounded by Metropolitan Green Belt. In 2019 the built up area had an estimated population of 2,434. The parish had a population of 2,563 in 2001, reducing to 2,541 at the 2011 Census.

Cleansed is the third play by the English playwright Sarah Kane. It was first performed in 1998 at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs in London. The play is set in a university which is operating as "an institution designed to rid society of its undesirables" where "a group of inmates try to save themselves through love" while under the rule of the sadistic Tinker. When the play premiered at the Royal Court in April 1998, Kane played the part of Grace for the last three performances because of an injury that the original actress suffered.

<i>Imaginary Friends</i> (play) Play by Nora Ephron

Imaginary Friends is a play by Nora Ephron. It includes songs with music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Craig Carnelia. This was Ephron's first stage play.

Deborah Levy is a British novelist, playwright and poet. She initially concentrated on writing for the theatre – her plays were staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company – before focusing on prose fiction. Her early novels included Beautiful Mutants, Swallowing Geography and Billy & Girl. Her more recent fiction has included the Booker-shortlisted novels Swimming Home and Hot Milk, as well as the Booker-longlisted The Man Who Saw Everything and the short story collection Black Vodka.

Kirsty Sutherland

Kirsty Philips is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Christie Hayes between 2000 and 2005 and again from 2008 to 2009. Kirsty first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 19 June 2000 and has been involved in one of the serial's most controversial storylines in which she knowingly started a relationship with a man who sexually assaulted her sister. Other notable plots include a baby swap plot, two miscarriages and a string of relationships including one with her supposed half-brother. Actress Hayes began playing the role at age thirteen and has quit the serial on two occasions, she made her original departure on 23 February 2005.

Dani Sutherland

Danielle "Dani" Sutherland is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Tammin Sursok. The actress successfully auditioned for the role of Dani in 1999 and she called the experience incredible. Sursok considered herself lucky to get the part, as the audition was the first one she had had since acquiring an agent. She made her first screen appearance as Dani during the episode broadcast on 19 June 2000. After four years in the role, Sursok made the decision to leave Home and Away in 2004 to pursue a music career and other acting opportunities and as a result Dani departed the series on 12 November 2004. She later explained that she had also become frustrated with the serial's producers. Sursok was glad that her character was written out of the show without anything bad happening to her.

Ash Kane

Ash Kane is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Holly Weston. Ash debuted on-screen on 28 September 2011. Weston attended a late audition for the role and was later told she had secured the part. Weston was signed to the serial on an initial six-month contract which was later extended by impressed producers.

Sonequa Martin-Green American actress

Sonequa Chaunté Martin-Green is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her television roles as Michael Burnham, the main character in the streaming television series Star Trek: Discovery, and as Sasha Williams on The Walking Dead. Before that, she had starred in several independent films before gaining her first recurring role as Courtney Wells on The Good Wife. Later, she had recurring roles as Tamara in Once Upon a Time and Rhonda in New Girl.

Clayton D. Moss

Clayton D. Moss is an Australian actor and writer, born in Sydney, Australia.

References

  1. http://www.curtainup.com/crave.html Review of Crave by Les Gutman at CurtainUp
  2. 1 2 Kane, Sarah (3 November 1998). "Sarah Kane Interview" (Interview: Audio). Interviewed by Dan Rebellato. Royal Holloway University. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  3. onzuiver is Dutch for "Impure"
  4. A reference to the Polish experimental theatre director Jerzy Grotowski.