Jump! Theatre Presents Sara Kane's "4:48 Psychosis"

Jump! Theatre's production of Sara Kane's "4:48 Psychosis" at the Noh Space in San Francisco 2840 Mariposa Street, between Florida and Alabama, ends December 16. You have two more weekends: Thurs -Sun (no performance Sunday, Dec. 9) to catch this unique creation. Pay what you can on Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 8PM, performance and discussion.

Under Rebecca Longworth's direction, Michael B. Lewis's sets design, and Meja Tyehimba's lighting, Kane's play about her struggle with bi-polar disorder grabs you in a way that few plays or films of this genre can. Briefly, Sarah Kane's first play "Blasted" premiered at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in 1995. She went on to write and direct "Phaedra's Love," 1996; "Cleansed" and "Crave," both in 1998, and a short screenplay "Skin," in 1997. Tragically, she committed suicide after completing "4:48." The play was presented posthumously at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs in 2000. The London Telegraph called "4:48" "an act of artistic heroism." Her work was considered shocking, and "in yer face." by the public, but discerning critics and theatre professionals hailed her work as a "revolution in modern theatre."




True to Kane's desire to engage audiences at the "emotional and visceral level of wild crowds at a football match," Jump!'s production does not disappoint. Rather than actors playing characters with given names, Longworth, true to Kane's vision of not specifying a number or identity of her cast, created an ensemble of four speaking parts, each assigned the range of emotions and thoughts of one person, in other words, split-offs of one psyche. The emotions and thoughts of Kane's poetic script are expressed as the actors - -Vincent Palo, Nena St. Louis, Paoli Lacy, and Andi C. Trindle - - cross the stage diagonally, separately, while adjusting panels, rolling office chairs, and video cameras on tripods (which are also hand-held at times), or lying flat, as they talk, doing justice to Kane's work. Poetry, as those who read a wide range of poets know, is beautiful, tragic, heartbreaking, surrealistic, visionary, inspirational, and, as Kane has said, visceral. She has incorporated all. The actors wear loose, dark gray, long-sleeve tops and pants lending a uniformity that allows us to see them as divergent manifestations of one person's mind. A video projection designed by Michael B. Lewis appears on screens upstage of fabric panels placed at angles and beautifully lit by Meja Tyehimba. On the screen, we see skewed, double images of whomever is being shot, a fitting visual metaphor for bipolar disorder. The actors sometimes sit in pairs as shrink and patient, each taking turns. One of the most telling bits was Nena St. Louis and Paoli Lacy, as shrinks, discussing, as they pace, heads down, hands to chins, various cases and their prescribed psychotropic medications; they talk about the medications' benefits to a patient, the side-effects and what medications will counteract them.




The actors sometimes hold amber work-lights, bringing them close to another actor, illuminating them, thus lending a haunting ambiance to the softly lit set, which is also projected on the screen. Kane's play is unique in that there are no leads, each actor appears to have equal time and each displays a deep understanding of Kane's poetry. Rebecca Longworth states in her program notes that the play benefits from Kane's personal experience with mental illness, psychotherapy, neuropharmaceuticals, and hospitalization. However, she did not wish to "reduce [her play] to such a simple interpretation" therefore squandering an opportunity to 'confront the implacable.' Longworth also wrote that Jump! Theatre has attempted to create a visual vocabulary that incorporates everyday gestures and familiar relationships to heighten the power of Kane's poetry. They have succeeded.



Please go to http://www.jumptheatre.org/ for more information or call: 415 282-0240. Tickets are $20.00 Call 800-838-3006.