Thomas Ostermeier's Berlin Schaubühne production- Blasted (Zerbombt)。

How can it be banal but effective on stage? Here it is, German hit the Brit’s play!


Sarah Kane, a playwright who you can only read her by now, is one of my all-time favorites. In “Blasted”, she used simple plots and characters in it, but to express a strong concept by both language and story. We usually expect to see how they are going to do with those sex related scenes and directions. How real they should be to convince us and buy their bills?

It was no such surprise from Thomas Ostermeier, how he deal with all that we want to see on stage. For a theatre student ‘s view, he was using ordinary ways to present those parts on stage, apart from skipping it, he did give a direction to solve it, though I would say it was normal. Here comes the point, why there should be anything new or amaing to shock or entertain audience, as long as there is something which expresses exactly what u want through texts, actors, set, lighting and so on. This is a great play I saw that clearly transformed what the play intended to communicate and say to us.

The stage has a huge turntable underneath the set (a hotel room). The use of it is quite poetic, especially the scene Ian and Cate have sex and the explosion after the soldier comes. Came with explosion was not only just the turning room but with all the ashes felt from top of stage. Very beautiful images on stage indeed.

The lighting has an interesting design, and almost became the main visual element after the explosion, a massive wall full of four rolls of fluorescent lamps hanging up-centre of the stage. And it had various lighting textures followed by different lightness and darkness in the space. When the time it was off and on (or other way round), it showed the special effect only from fluorescent lamps.

Acting is another part that actors provoked the sense of terror and ordeal to us by using normal actions and lines from Kane, but I could tell they were fully equipped and prepared for the characters. Deep but simple, like a fresh tasty juice ads: “Nothing Added”.

Those I mention above aren’t very new or special from the history of theatre or performance, but that way he used it and combined those elements were successfully tell me both he and Kane want to express indeed.



I like this play very much.


I love Sarah Kane.