Posted by: Iain Fisher
« on: August 08, 2026, 04:37:09 PM »some reviews of Cleansed currently being performed in Almeida Theatre, London
"...There is sudden, immense beauty, declarations of love, romantic clinches and humour. Set alongside Kane’s brand of post-dramatic theatre, the play’s message is strangely romantic: the human need, maybe even demand, for love and for beauty persists, every bit as vital a force as violence" (Arifa Akbar, The Guardian, 30 July 2026, click here https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/jul/30/cleansed-review-almeida-theatre-london-rebecca-frecknall )
"...The fleshy pink walls of Madeleine Girling’s set, where a corridor with glass windows runs behind a doctor’s room-cum-torture chamber, become increasingly bloodied over time. And when a field of brilliant yellow daffodils springs up in front, it’s as if their taunting promise of sunnier times remains just out of reach, or perhaps only obtainable in dreams or death.
The symbolism scorches. So while being confronted with this much violence paired with so little plot or, seemingly, purpose, does indeed seem gratuitous, in light of all we know about Kane’s own torment (she took her own life the following year), staging it now is really about keeping alive the memory of a playwright whose light shone too briefly. Still, it certainly doesn’t leave you feeling cleansed" (Holly O'Mahony, London Theatre, 30 July 2026, click here https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/reviews/cleansed-review-almeida-theatre )
"...There is sudden, immense beauty, declarations of love, romantic clinches and humour. Set alongside Kane’s brand of post-dramatic theatre, the play’s message is strangely romantic: the human need, maybe even demand, for love and for beauty persists, every bit as vital a force as violence" (Arifa Akbar, The Guardian, 30 July 2026, click here https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/jul/30/cleansed-review-almeida-theatre-london-rebecca-frecknall )
"...The fleshy pink walls of Madeleine Girling’s set, where a corridor with glass windows runs behind a doctor’s room-cum-torture chamber, become increasingly bloodied over time. And when a field of brilliant yellow daffodils springs up in front, it’s as if their taunting promise of sunnier times remains just out of reach, or perhaps only obtainable in dreams or death.
The symbolism scorches. So while being confronted with this much violence paired with so little plot or, seemingly, purpose, does indeed seem gratuitous, in light of all we know about Kane’s own torment (she took her own life the following year), staging it now is really about keeping alive the memory of a playwright whose light shone too briefly. Still, it certainly doesn’t leave you feeling cleansed" (Holly O'Mahony, London Theatre, 30 July 2026, click here https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/reviews/cleansed-review-almeida-theatre )