Scenes from 4:48 Psychosis

Based on the Script by Sarah Kane

I have always wanted to use theatre to tackle the topic of mental health. I fell in love with Sarah Kane's 4:48 Psychosis from the first read and was fascinated by the unconventional ways the script dealt with depression, isolation, self harm, and being in love while suffering.

I used Kane's script as an inspiration and starting point for how I wanted to display these issues to an audience. I wanted to use the talents of my friends to tell this story with the help of some creative audio and visual concepts to really give the audience an experience as I took them on this journey. I also wanted to use unconventional theatrical techniques to tell this story as well, including the use of etudes devised by the company to help give the show an atmosphere in ways words are unable to do.

Given the intensity of the subject matter, this rehearsal process required lots of care and I used the techniques I had learned in my own personal therapy treatment to help my cast feel their best mentally in order to give this production the energy and attitude it needed.

This production was very much a passion project of mine and I'm very glad I got to share this piece with the world.

-RJM