Violence in Mark Ravenhill’s Shopping and Fucking andSarah Kane’s Cleansed

Abstract: This article examines the thematic and stylistic treatment of violence in Mark Ravenhill’s Shopping and Fucking and Sarah Kane’s Cleansed, focusing on three primary forms: verbal, sexual and physical. The study explores how both playwrights use fragmented dialogue, disturbing imagery, and transgressive character arcs to confront the audience with the realities of abuse, desire, and emotional disintegration. The plays challenge conventional morality and theatrical norms, portraying violence as both a symptom and a critique of contemporary society. Through close textual analysis and theoretical framing, the article argues that Ravenhill and Kane do not merely depict violence for shock value, but rather as a means of exploring the human condition, the limits of empathy, and the possibility of redemption through suffering.