Sarah Kane, Cleansed

Aleks Sierz (Independent Scholar - Europe); Julie Waddington

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1998

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

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Cleansed

, a drama in twenty scenes, is Sarah Kane’s third play. Set in “an institution designed to rid society of its undesirables”, according to the cover of the first edition of the playtext, “a group of inmates try to save themselves through love.” Using four interweaving storylines, Kane explores the theme of love, testing her characters by putting them in a concentration camp where they are subjected to horrendous atrocities. The main story is about Grace’s search for her brother Graham, an addict who’s been murdered by Tinker, a sadistic guard or doctor at the institution. Grace wears Graham’s clothes, dances with his spirit, makes love to him, and finally – after receiving a penis transplant – becomes him. Juxtaposed with this story of sibling bonding is the…

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2073 words

Citation: Sierz, Aleks, Julie Waddington. "Cleansed". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 June 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=15073, accessed 23 April 2024.]

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