Sarah Kane (February 3, 1971 - February 20, 1999) was a British playwright, screenwriter and theater director. She is known for writing plays that explore themes of redemptive love, sexuality, pain, torture (both physical and psychological), and death. Her work is characterized by poetic intensity, refined language, exploration of dramatic form and, in her early works, the use of extreme and violent stage action.
Kane herself, as well as scholars of her work such as Graham Saunders, believe that her sources of inspiration included Expressionist drama and Jacobean tragedy. Critic Alex Shields sees her work as part of a theatrical style and sensibility known as "confrontational theatre." Shields initially called Kane "the most quintessential confrontational writer of the 1990s", but later stated in 2009 that although he initially "thought she was very typical of the new writing of the mid-1990s", "as time went on we found more and more that she seemed atypical".
Kane's published works include five plays, a short film, Skin, and two newspaper articles for The Guardian.
"4.48 Breakdown" is the last drama written by British playwright Sarah Kane. This is her posthumous work, which was first performed at the Jerwood Theater on the upper floor of the Royal Court Theater on June 23, 2000, directed by James Macdonald, nearly a year and a half after Caine's death on February 20, 1999. The play has no clear characters or stage directions. As a result, the play's stage production has varied greatly, and can be performed with one to several actors; the original production had three actors. According to Caine's friend and fellow playwright David Gregg, the play's title comes from the time of 4:48 a.m., when Caine often woke up when she was in a depressed state.