Sarah Kane, Skin

Graham Saunders (University of Reading); Aleks Sierz (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1995

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Cinema/ Film/ TV
- Screenplay

Resources

Sarah Kane wrote five plays and one short film. The 10-minute film Skin is about Billy, a young skinhead, who joins in a brutal racist attack on a mixed-race wedding party in Brixton, and then finds himself drawn to Marcia, a black woman whose flat is visible from Billy's window. He visits Marcia, the couple have sex, she carves her name on his back, but finally rejects him, finding solace with Kath, her flatmate, while Billy unsuccessfully takes an overdose. Completed in summer 1995, Skin was directed by Vincent O'Connell, Kane's friend and mentor (her first two plays were dedicated to him). The film was shortlisted for production for the Short & Curlies series by Channel Four/British Screen at the beginning of 1995, just …

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884 words

Citation: Saunders, Graham, Aleks Sierz. "Skin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 June 2004 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=15071, accessed 26 November 2024.]

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