Time, space, and the generation of the persona in Sarah Kane’s ‘4.48 Psychosis’

Abstract

This dissertation will examine the notions of time and space and the subsequent generation of the persona in Sarah Kane’s (1971–99) 4.48 Psychosis through postdramatic concepts. 4.48 Psychosis is a coalition of postdramatic notions of time and space, where the Aristotelian concept of unities is reflected upon and also questioned. The merging of time and space creates a spatio-temporal process in which a persona is generated. This essay draws upon non-theatre-based philosophies to establish a solid basis for which theatre-based theories can then be applied. The philosophies of Henri Lefebvre (1901–91), and Michel Foucault (1926–84) provide an in depth study on space and rhythms. Albert Einstein’s (1879–1955) scientific studies on the theory of relativity together with Allen C. Bluedorn’s (b. 1956) anthropological studies on time, construct an understanding of time in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries as a social manifestation. These theories are implemented into the theatrical dimension through Eugenio Barba’s (b.1936) notion of the extra-daily and his understanding of dramaturgies, and Hans-Thies Lehmann’s (b. 1944) study on postdramatic theatre. In conclusion, this dissertation addresses the idea of a merging of time and space, from which a multiform of time and of space results in a disintegration of the notion of the character that leads to the generation of the persona.