‘It put me in a fever dream’: Philip Venables on turning Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis into a shocking opera
Composer Philip Venables says Sarah Kane’s play *4.48 Psychosis* sparked the idea for an opera during a sleepless overnight flight in 2015. The work, which returns to the Royal Opera House a decade after its premiere, combined Kane’s intense writing with an unconventional musical and theatrical form.
Venables wrote the opera in six months while facing personal and financial strain, and says Kane’s text became a refuge. Rehearsals were demanding because of complex ensemble singing, recorded material and tightly timed lighting, sound and video; the cast and creative team brought it to the stage in May 2016. Audience response brought relief and euphoria, and Venables was proud that the words remained clear and central.
- A sleepless flight sparked Venables’s opera.
- He wrote it in six months amid personal difficulties.
- The production returns to the Royal Opera House a decade later.
New here? Start with this
Sarah Kane was a British playwright whose final play, 4.48 Psychosis, was first staged in 2000, after her death. It has no named characters or conventional plot, and its fragmented text explores mental distress and the experience of psychiatric care.
Philip Venables is a British composer who adapted the play as an opera, keeping Kane’s words at its centre. The production brought together singers, musicians and theatre elements such as recorded sound, lighting and video.
The opera links contemporary opera with a play that has become an influential work in modern theatre. Its approach raises questions about how music and performance can present difficult experiences while keeping the original writing clear.