Named for the early morning time that playwright Sarah Kane would wake, 4.48 Psychosis is an in-depth and viscerally honest look at the experience of major depressive disorder. As a choreopoem, there are no specific characters, but rather a multitude of voices that pull the audience into the one hour and twelve minutes that the speaker feels lucid, like themselves, and has clarity. However, this experience is not one of relief, but instead profound confusion, anger, and desperation, until six am, when they request: “please open the curtains.”
4.48 Psychosis was Kane’s last play before her suicide in 1999. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2000, and has been performed worldwide. Because of its graphic and traumatic content, it is for mature audiences only.
4.48 Psychosis guide sections
