Title: Affective orientation in Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis
Source document: Theatralia. 2025, vol. 28, iss. 2, pp. 58-70
Extent
58-70
-
ISSN1803-845X (print)2336-4548 (online)
Persistent identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5817/TY2025-2-4
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/digilib.83100
Type: Article
Language
English
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International
Rights access
open access
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
This article explores the affective resonance of Sara Kane's 4.48 Psychosis and its sociopolitical implications. Through the works of Sara Ahmed and Lauren Berlant it proposes a theoretical framework that focuses on affective objects and how they shape the affective orientation of the text. It also studies the figure of the affect alien and the notion of impasse to analyse how they define the affective environment of the play. Finally, the corporeality of affect is taken into account to better understand how Kane's text connects with the reader, affectively orienting them alongside its protagonist in order to reinforce the critique guided by the narrative voice.
References
[1] AHMED, Sara. 2010. The Promise of Happiness. Durham/London: Duke University Press, 2010.
[2] BERLANT, Lauren. 2011. Cruel Optimism. Durham/London: Duke University Press, 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822394716.
[3] CAMPBELL, Alyson. 2005. Experiencing Kane: An Affective Analysis of Sarah Kane’s ‘Experiential’ Theatre in Performance. Australasian Drama Studies 46 (2005): 80–97.
[4] FAISCO, Catia. 2020. Undressing Sarah Kane: A Portuguese Perspective on In-Yer-Face. In William Boles (ed.) After In-Yer-Face Theatre: Remnants of a Theatrical Revolution. Cham: Springer, 2020: 89–102. | DOI 10.1007/978-3-030-39427-1_6
[5] FENSHMAN, Rachel. 2016. Affective Spectatorship: Watching Theatre and the Study of Affect. In Christel Stalpaert, Katharina Pewny, Jeroen Coppens and Pieter Vermeulen (eds.) Unfolding Spectatorship: Shifting Political, Ethical and Intermedial Positions. Gent: Academia Press, 2016: 39–60.
[6] FISHER, Tony. 2018. Theatre at the Impasse: Political Theology and Blitz Theatre Group’s Late Night. Performance Philosophy 4 (2018): 1: 139–156 . DOI: https://doi.org/10.21476/PP.2018.41205. | DOI 10.21476/pp.2018.41205
[7] FRAGKOU, Marissia. 2021. ‘Feeling Feminism’: Politics of Mischief in Contemporary Women’s Theatre. In Mireia Aragay, Cristina Delgado-Garcia and Martin Middeke (eds.) Affects in 21st-Century British Theatre: Exploring Feeling on Page and Stage. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021: 127–147. | DOI 10.1007/978-3-030-58486-3_7
[8] GREIG, David. 2021. Introduction. In Sarah Kane. Complete Plays. London: Bloomsbury, 2021: ix–xviii.
[9] KANE, Sarah. 2021. Complete Plays. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.
[10] MASSUMI, Brian. 2002. Parables for the Virtual: Movement, Affect, Sensation. Durham/London: Duke University Press, 2002. | DOI 10.1215/9780822383574
[11] MATAMALA, Ma Eugenia. 2014. Sarah Kane, una edicion critica [Sarah Kane, A Critical Edition]. Unpublished PhD thesis. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, 2014.
[12] OVASKA, Anna. 2016. Sarah Kane’s World of Depression: The Emergence and Experience of Mental Illness in 4.48 Psychosis. On_Culture: The Open Journal for the Study of Culture 1 (2016): 1–25. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22029/jlupub-7031.
[13] PAIS, Ana. 2015. From Effect to Affect: Narratives of Passivity and Modes of Participation of the Contemporary Spectator. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai-Dramatica LX (2015): 2: 123–149.
[14] REID, Trish. 2018. ‘Killing Joy as a World Making Project’: Anger in the Work of Debbie Tucker Green. Contemporary Theatre Review 28 (2018): 3: 390–400. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10486801.2018.1475356. | DOI 10.1080/10486801.2018.1475356
[15] TAIT, Peta. 2021. Theory for Theatre Studies: Emotion. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.
[2] BERLANT, Lauren. 2011. Cruel Optimism. Durham/London: Duke University Press, 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822394716.
[3] CAMPBELL, Alyson. 2005. Experiencing Kane: An Affective Analysis of Sarah Kane’s ‘Experiential’ Theatre in Performance. Australasian Drama Studies 46 (2005): 80–97.
[4] FAISCO, Catia. 2020. Undressing Sarah Kane: A Portuguese Perspective on In-Yer-Face. In William Boles (ed.) After In-Yer-Face Theatre: Remnants of a Theatrical Revolution. Cham: Springer, 2020: 89–102. | DOI 10.1007/978-3-030-39427-1_6
[5] FENSHMAN, Rachel. 2016. Affective Spectatorship: Watching Theatre and the Study of Affect. In Christel Stalpaert, Katharina Pewny, Jeroen Coppens and Pieter Vermeulen (eds.) Unfolding Spectatorship: Shifting Political, Ethical and Intermedial Positions. Gent: Academia Press, 2016: 39–60.
[6] FISHER, Tony. 2018. Theatre at the Impasse: Political Theology and Blitz Theatre Group’s Late Night. Performance Philosophy 4 (2018): 1: 139–156 . DOI: https://doi.org/10.21476/PP.2018.41205. | DOI 10.21476/pp.2018.41205
[7] FRAGKOU, Marissia. 2021. ‘Feeling Feminism’: Politics of Mischief in Contemporary Women’s Theatre. In Mireia Aragay, Cristina Delgado-Garcia and Martin Middeke (eds.) Affects in 21st-Century British Theatre: Exploring Feeling on Page and Stage. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021: 127–147. | DOI 10.1007/978-3-030-58486-3_7
[8] GREIG, David. 2021. Introduction. In Sarah Kane. Complete Plays. London: Bloomsbury, 2021: ix–xviii.
[9] KANE, Sarah. 2021. Complete Plays. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.
[10] MASSUMI, Brian. 2002. Parables for the Virtual: Movement, Affect, Sensation. Durham/London: Duke University Press, 2002. | DOI 10.1215/9780822383574
[11] MATAMALA, Ma Eugenia. 2014. Sarah Kane, una edicion critica [Sarah Kane, A Critical Edition]. Unpublished PhD thesis. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, 2014.
[12] OVASKA, Anna. 2016. Sarah Kane’s World of Depression: The Emergence and Experience of Mental Illness in 4.48 Psychosis. On_Culture: The Open Journal for the Study of Culture 1 (2016): 1–25. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22029/jlupub-7031.
[13] PAIS, Ana. 2015. From Effect to Affect: Narratives of Passivity and Modes of Participation of the Contemporary Spectator. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai-Dramatica LX (2015): 2: 123–149.
[14] REID, Trish. 2018. ‘Killing Joy as a World Making Project’: Anger in the Work of Debbie Tucker Green. Contemporary Theatre Review 28 (2018): 3: 390–400. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10486801.2018.1475356. | DOI 10.1080/10486801.2018.1475356
[15] TAIT, Peta. 2021. Theory for Theatre Studies: Emotion. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.