A blast of cold air

Whatever else you may say about Adrian Buckle's Unifaun Theatre Company, he rarely... if ever... seeks out the soft option. Since its inception Unifaun has consistently come up with challenging and sometimes notorious plays to set before its audience.

Their latest production, the late Sarah Kane's Blasted qualifies on both counts. For a start it is the product of a terminally depressed mind - she hanged herself in 1998 at the age of 28 - and it deals with rape, homosexual rape and cannibalism... just for starters.

When it was premiered in 1995 it was absolutely hammered by the London critics. One of the milder reviews described Blasted as: "This disgusting piece of filth." However other literary figures, including Harold Pinter spoke up in favour of the work.

Unifaun's production is to be directed by an American (and not English, as we erroneously referred to him in last month's Showtime) director Dave Barton and the cast comprises Californian actor Brian Jennings, plus Jo Caruana and Andrew Galea. This just might be the impact play of the season.

It plays at the St James theatre-in-the-round from October 31 to November 2, then again the following weekend. Performances begin at 8 p.m. Tickets may be obtained from the St James booking office.