Sarah Kane’s Cleansed is extremely disturbing and unpleasant to watch. It was written shortly before she hanged herself in 1998. She was only 28 and famous for her graphic portrayals of violence. Prisoners are degraded and tortured. Actors spend much of their time dressing and undressing and appearing in the nude and simulating sex and having sex changes and being forced fed.
Katie Mitchell’s production is very efficient. The cast of seven has been choreographed. I felt I was watching dance theatre. The production, clever though it is, proves conclusively that any merit, this repulsive play may have, has been grossly over-rated.