1 March 2016. Cleansed at the National Theatre.

We were warned of explicit physical and sexual violence at the door but I, at least, got more than I bargained for. This is an extraordinary piece of theatre which must make enormous demands on the actors, particularly the lead role taken by Michelle Terry.

Written by Sarah Kane, a clearly troubled person who committed suicide the year after writing it in 1999, it is a somewhat perplexing piece. Maybe this was exaggerated by Katie Mitchell's direction. At the end, the man sitting next to me commented to the effect of 'what the fuck was that about?' and I must admit the same thought was in my mind at the time. However, it is the sort of play that sticks in one's mind and after a few days the personal essence of it becomes clearer.

We are in a total institution. It is well conveyed with paint peeling off the walls and little natural light and the sounding of a bell to cue actions by the operatives. They are masked and seem to be in the business of cleansing people who do not fit the regime - gays for example. The lead role - Grace - has come to find out about the fate of her brother who is eliminated early on in the play. Subsequently we have rapes, homosexuality and masturbation in front of a caged dancer who performs as money is put in the slot machine. We also have the graphic removal of body parts much to the delight of the rats who make off with them. Every so often a squeeling rat is shot by one of the guards. One of the gays commits suicide; and so on.

At the end Grace has been given the penis of one of the gay couple - Carl and I'm tempted to say we all live happily ever after. The cage girl emerges to declare love for Tinker, the 'commandant', who kisses her and shoots her.

It is a perplexing piece. Sold out and walked out, it is a production that divides audiences and critics who range from two stars in the Observer to five stars in the FT.

Personally, I cannot see this is a great play or even a good one. It seems to be in the shock genre, without leaving us clear what we are meant to be shocked into or out of. However, it is undeniably an extraordinary event, to which thank goodness hapless tourists will not have been able to buy tickets on the off chance.