Sarah Kane

Sarah Kane © Jane Brown

Sarah Kane (1971 – 1999) was an English playwright. Her plays deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture — both physical and psychological — and death. They are characterized 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, as well as scholars of her work, such as Graham Saunders, identify her style as expressionist theatre. Critics, including Aleks Sierz, have seen her work as part of a movement that broke away from the naturalistic tendencies of much 20th century English theatre.