British drama of the 1990s is most commonly associated with the term in-yer-face theatre which
was coined by Aleks Sierz to describe the shocking and provocative work of emerging playwrights
such as Mark Ravenhill or Sarah Kane. Taking a cue from Sierz¿s own suggestion that what still
remains to be researched more thoroughly in this field is the particular relationship between
the stage and the audience this monograph undertakes precisely that task. Rather than use the
term offered by Sierz however the study proposes a different concept to account for the
dynamics of communication within the particular theatre of the 1990s namely the aesthetic
category of the sublime. Coupled with elements of Reader Response Theory the sublime proves to
be a more fruitful term as it provides more precise tools for the analysis of the audience¿s
aesthetic response than does in-yer-face theatre. With the help of four representative plays by
four key playwrights of that time Closer by Patrick Marber Normal by Anthony Neilson Faust
is Dead by Mark Ravenhill and 4.48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane the book details the consecutive
stages in the process of the plays¿ reception that the members of the audience go through while
forming their aesthetic response to them. Looking through the prism of the sublime the study
not only offers a detailed analysis of each play but also suggests an entirely new approach to
British drama of the 1990s.
