The Royal Court will stage the world premiere of the last play by the late playwright Sarah Kane this summer. 4.48 Psychosis runs from June 24 to July 15 in the Court's Jerwood Theatre Upstairs.

Kane, whose plays include Blasted, Cleansed and Crave, committed suicide in February 1999 just days after her 28th birthday. The young playwright rose controversially to prominence in 1995 when, at age 23, she had her first play, Blasted, staged by the Royal Court. The play disgusted many critics with its portrayal of cannibalism and male and female rape.

Kane's predilection for violence continued to divide critics in subsequent plays -- Phaedra's Love, which she also directed, at the Gate Theatre and, back at the Royal Court in 1998, Cleansed. Her final work before her death, Crave, received its world premiere at 1998's Edinburgh Festival Fringe and later received a London run back at the Royal Court. The play, in which four characters sit and talk in verse of obsessive love, was more enthusiastically received by critics who appreciated the lack of gore and believed it demonstrated Kane's maturity as a playwright. But, perhaps tellingly, the play ended with suicide.

4.48 Psychosis, in which the central character dreams of going to the doctor's and being given just eight minutes to live, is directed by James McDonald and designed by Jeremy Herbert with lighting by Nigel Edwards.

The cast features Daniel Evans, Jo McInnes and Madelaine Potter. For further information, contact the Royal Court box office on 011-44-20-7565-5000. The Royal Court is on the web at http://www.royalcourttheatre.com.

-- By Terri Paddock
What's On Stage, London
and Christine Ehren