EMU Theatre

EMU Theatre is proud to present its next production, 4.48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane. Performances will be February 26th, 27th, March 5th and 6th at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire in Lawrence. All shows start at 8:00 PM.

4.48 Psychosis is a captivating and powerful exploration of one woman’s battle with mental illness. The work mirrors Kane’s own personal struggle with severe depression. She never saw her final work performed, as Kane died by her own hand shortly after completing the play.

Samantha Raines, Andrew Stowers and Misty Nuckolls depict varying aspects of the central character's fragile existence, while Nandini MacMillan portrays her therapist.

Tickets for the show are $10.00 for adults and $8.00 for students and seniors and can be purchased at the door or in advance from the Lawrence Arts Center box office. Cash or credit cards may be used to purchase tickets. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center in Lawrence. Talk-backs hosted by the Bert Nash Center will be held after each show for audience members who would like discuss or learn more about the play, or about the services offered by Bert Nash. To purchase tickets, please call the Lawrence Arts Center at 785.843.2787.

The following is a statement from director Dan Born:

"4.48 Psychosis is a black snowflake that cannot melt. The poetic and searing story of a young woman's journey to suicide, the script has no stage directions, no set description, not even a cast list or assigned roles. Each production is compelled into uniqueness; the challenge is to make that uniqueness seem inevitable.

A director's first duty in this situation is to become an investigator, a beach-comber searching for treasure with only the script for a map. The second duty is to persuade the audience that these encrusted nuggets dug from the sand are in fact treasures. I've had the help, the remarkable help, of a cast and crew who have responded to this tragic work much as I have, with excitement and sadness. I think together we've achieved a vision of this work that is both surprising and compelling. 4.48 Psychosis is one of the truly cathartic plays of modern times. Working out its puzzles, its shifts in tone and style, its heartfelt pleadings and cynical humor, has deepened my appreciation of the life, and uniqueness, in each of us. It's my hope that this production will affect its audience in the same way."