'Blasted' By Sarah Kane

It's a rare event when theatre makes the headlines but Blasted, Sarah Kane's first play, did just that. Hugely controversial when it premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre in 1995, it was hailed as a landmark of modern theatre, an astonishingly visceral play of harrowing power that achieved notoriety very quickly by being lambasted in the Daily Mail as "a disgusting feast of filth". Sarah Kane is regarded as a groundbreaking dramatist, over-rated interloper, honorary lad, confrontational bad girl, funny, depressive, tortured suicidal artist, theatrical visionary, savoir and prophet, depending on whom you asked and when you asked them.

It starts in a Leeds hotel room, to which sickly, gin-soaked local news journalist Ian brings his young lover, the naïve, epileptic Cate for the night. He's racist, homophobic, and armed. They circle each other in a battle of wills when suddenly an armed soldier enters the room and ignites an explosive set of events that lead to scenes of rape, torture and cannibalism. Kane takes audiences through a nightmarish journey that serves as a vicious reminder that violence outside will always find a way in.

One of the hallmarks of a great play is its capacity to burn an indelible image into your brain—a king and his fool on a stormy heath, two tramps killing time under a bare tree. Blasted is what the theatre should be: when you go out, you're not the same person you were when you walked in. Whatever you make of it, it's definitely unforgettable. Blasted is not for the faint-hearted but it is for the reflective mind.

The productions of Blasted and Pornography are is kindly supported by the Adelaide Festival Centre.

'Pornography' By Simon Stephens

It's July 2005 and London feels like the centre of the world. Big events are happening and everyone is talking about them— Live 8, G8, the triumph of the 2012 Olympics bid for London. In schools, offices, streets, shops, parks and homes—the air is electric with promise and possibility. You can feel the sense of anticipation. In less than an hour in Central London, everything will change ...

It's a lonely trek towards oblivion on the London Underground made by a young man with ice in his heart and a pack of explosives in his rucksack. This stark and shattering play follows seven different characters who share little besides their loneliness, over the first seven days of July from Live 8 through the 2012 Olympics announcement and the ensuing terror attacks in the heart of London.

A state-of-the-nation play in the fullest sense, Pornography captures Britain as it crashes from the euphoria and promise of the 2012 Olympics announcement into the devastation of the 7/7 terrorist attacks. Simon Stephens is one of Britain's most brilliant new playwrights.

One city, one day, seven stories (and of course it couldn't happen here ...).

The productions of Pornography and Blasted are kindly supported by the Adelaide Festival Centre.

MAY CONTAIN COARSE LANGUAGE, NUDITY, SEXUAL REFERENCES AND SMOKE EFFECTS.

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