4.48 Psychosis - Action News
Home WebMail Saturday, November 23, 2024, 12:05 AM | Calgary | -11.5°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Manitoba Review

4.48 Psychosis

Frenetic and deft, to watch this play is to get up close and personal with mental illness

Frenetic and deft, to watch this play is to get up close and personal with mental illness

(Theatre by the River)

Rating: Review

Company: Theatre by the River

Genre: Play-Drama

Venue: 11 - Red River College (Roblin Centre)

PurchaseTickets

Winnipeg's Theatre by the River tackles Sarah Kane's final play before her death by suicide in 1999. From the moment our unnamed protagonist begins speaking, we are transported inside a very troubled mind.

To watch this show is to bear witness to mental illness, up close and personal.

Unleashing a frenetic tumble of words, Elizabeth Whitbread deftly swings between mania anddespondency. She makes direct, unflinching eye contact. She writhes on the floor. She rambles. She is anguished, hostile, hopeless. She mocks her doctors as "a room full of expressionless faces, staring blankly at my pain." (Or is she mocking us?) She begs: "Don't let this kill me."

The subject matter is enhanced by some very smart choices by director Kendra Jones, including the effective use of audio technology and an unconventional final moment.

To watch this show is to bear witness to mental illness, up close and personal.- Marlo Campbell

I'm not sure I enjoyed watching 4.48 Psychosisbut without a doubt, it's worth seeing.