Pushing violence to the brink

Why hasn't Sarah Kane's Cleansed been revived in this country since it was first seen at the Royal Court in 1998? It's hard to think of any recent work that comes as close to achieving the cathartic effect of Greek tragedy.

In a grim institution, ironically called a university, experiments are carried out on a handful of inmates. Two gay men, Rod and Carl, pay a horrifying price for their love. As does Grace, who shares a gentle, incestuous relationship with the ghost of her brother, Graham, and sweet, slightly gormless Robin, who swaps clothes with Grace and falls for her. All are presided over by Tinker, their torturer.

The play's violent excess - arms, legs and genitalia are lopped off - is such that tenderness becomes shocking, as when Grace puts on her dead brother's boxer shorts and baggy jeans and breaks down, or when Rod kisses his lover after Carl's tongue has been cut out.

Kane pushes the audience and her characters to the brink of what we can bear and leaves us teetering there. When Tinker forces the tearful Robin to eat a whole box of chocolates one by one, moments feel like hours.

The play's resonances are many: from Hiroshima and concentration camps to the Iraq War and Abu Ghraib. But above all, it's about the capacity to feel, gnawing need and the annihilating power of love. The cast give blistering performances and director Sean Holmes marshals the play's furious beauty to bring out all its brutal romanticism.

Until Dec 3, Arcola Theatre, 27 Arcola Street E8, Mon to Sat 8pm, Sat mats 4pm, £12, £8 concs, Tue pay what you can. Tel: 020 7503 1646. www.arcolatheatre.com. Rail: Dalston Kingsland

Cleansed