Philip Venables' opera 4.48 Psychosis, based on Sarah Kane's play, returns to London
Philip Venables' opera 4.48 Psychosis, adapted from British playwright Sarah Kane's final play, is running again at the Linbury Theatre in London until 25 October. The Guardian's reviewer is largely admiring, faulting only some of the musical choices.
The opera 4.48 Psychosis, based on the play of the same name by British playwright Sarah Kane, is being staged again at the Linbury Theatre, the smaller venue of the Royal Opera House in London, until 25 October. Composed by Philip Venables, the production is 10 years old; director Ted Huffman has now revived it with a slightly revised ending. The Guardian's reviewer responds to the revival with strong approval.
The play and the opera
Between 1995 and 1999 Sarah Kane wrote five provocative plays that changed British theatre. 4.48 Psychosis was her last and most personal, dealing with the clinical depression she had struggled with for years. Kane died by suicide in 1999, and the play was first performed in 2000.
The Royal Opera and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama commissioned the opera, which debuted in 2016. Venables set Kane's original text almost in full, turning its 24 disjointed sections into a score that draws on minimalism, prickly synth-pop and nods to the baroque. The libretto moves between poetic abstraction and sharp exchanges between a patient and a psychologist. Six female singers explore depression, isolation and the difficult decisions around medication.
The reviewer's verdict
The reviewer argues that Venables makes effective use of music's capabilities by overlapping vocal lines, and that the narrative is anchored by a single spoken voice over a loudspeaker. As a weakness, the review cites the music's tendency to dictate the emotional temperature through the six-part chorus, which restricts interpretive freedom and softens the play's capacity to shock.
Huffman's direction is described as astute and economical, set within Hannah Clark's white box set and DM Wood's stark lighting. The 14-piece chamber orchestra is the London collective Chroma, conducted by Naomi Woo. In the central role, Jacquelyn Stucker is singled out by the reviewer for a searingly honest performance.
