Do yourself a favour and witness the feat that is bettering Sarah Kane’s already extraordinary play.

When the cast of Montague Basement’s Cleansed departed the stage, I was left feeling myriad emotions that were beyond my consciousness’ comprehension.

That’s a phenomenal testament to the power of this production, that I was rendered into this state of wordlessly trying to unravel what I’d just seen.

One of the major directorial departures from the original script is the gender-bending of characters. Tinker is written as the sadistic overseer of the institution in which the action takes place. In the original script, Tinker is written as a man, which lends itself to the often power hungry, and evidence-lacking bolstered ego of authoritative men. In removing the male ego, the female Tinker explores the societal anomaly that actor Annie Stafford describes as a woman “unhinged.”

“The cross casting has added another layer to onion that is Tinker,” said Stafford. “It plays against expectations for a woman to be nurturing.”

The character of Graham also deviates from his intended gender, and is trans. If you’re familiar with Cleansed, you’ll immediately understand how wonderfully that adds to the journey of Grace. If not, then that alone is reason to see this play.

Cleansed is shocking, unapologetic, and feeds off sustaining uncomfortable action far beyond the relative ease of the audience.

This is the first time that Cleansed has been produced outside of the educational realm in Sydney, and for those unfamiliar with the play, the experience is exceptional.

Cleansed will cause your brain to short-circuit into half-formed ideas and interpretations, leaving your body to physically feel the emotions of the play.

* Cleansed contains nudity, graphic depictions of violence, gore, sexual violence, sex and drug use as well as sudden loud noises and mild strobing lights.