The Cut is a dystopian play. It’s based around themes such as pain, absence of love and suffering. Both scenes are equally disturbing, however, act one is what kicks off the play and, to an extent, gives the audience an idea of what the play will be about as well as how they should feel and respond to scenes. There is a great deal of uncertainty in act one which makes the audience feel disturbed and uncomfortable. The talk of the Cut, the role of the government and their society in general makes act one a lot more disturbing to watch than act two.

Paul and John’s constant mention of the Cut could make the audience feel uncomfortable because of the fact they don’t actually know what it is. “…it’s a ritual, a custom, something we…” – John is referring to the Cut here and he is describing it as though it’s a traditional thing to have done in their society, the use of the word “custom” implies that the Cut is something that their society expects the majority of people to have, the fact that the audience don’t know why makes the thought of the Cut disturbing. Contrary to John’s description of the Cut, Paul describes it as a painful thing – “the great screams as the instruments go in?” From the word “instruments” we can gather that the Cut is a form of surgery – The fact that there are two different attitudes towards the Cut alienates the audience from the play’s plot. It makes the audience question the Cut – is it a good thing or is it a bad thing?

The Cut was written by Mark Ravenhill in 2006; the generation of technology. If people don’t feel comfortable with the meaning of something, they’d normally research it, however, people watching the play cannot do that so they are left feeling isolated without knowing what the Cut is and how to feel about it because of the mixed attitudes and opinions. Ravenhill could have purposely created this level of uncertainty within the play to allow the audience to think for themselves and have their own interpretation of what the Cut is.
Other than the Cut itself, we also see more uncertainty within their society. The use of universities, prisons and the army are not what we’d expect them to be which again isolates the audience from the actors. “There’s the prison facility”, “there’s the army” and there’s also a university. Paul is offering these options to John as an alternative to the Cut. The audience wouldn’t regard the university as a form of punishment – this marginalises the audience from the play as it gives them an idea of what the Cut is without confirming their interpretations. At the beginning of scene one, we see Paul trying to put John in a category, later in the act we learn that there are different roles in society and authority lies within the government, who is responsible for the role of everyone else as well as the Cut. This could disturb the audience because it suggests that their society is corrupted and under government control.
Paul states that he sees people who despise the Cut – “Normally I see fear, anger.” However, John is anxious to get the Cut because he wants to be “free” – this alienates the audience because Ravenhill firstly used language to suggest to the audience that the Cut is a form of government control, and then John says he is anxious for the Cut because he wants to be “released.” The use of the word “released” suggests that the Cut is an escape root for people who want to get out of the grip of government control that is clearly presented in this dystopian society. Conversely, it is not explained why getting the Cut will release him from government control, therefore it is not completely understood by the audience which again disturbs them due to the huge amount of alienation and lack of understanding of the main themes.
Pain is a main theme that is presented in act one – the language such as “suffering”, “screams of pain”, “claw” and “howl” Ravenhill uses in act one set the themes pain and darkness. It is evident that the Cut is a painful procedure to have done and the language used emphasises this; however, it is not clear why John is so desperate for it if it is so painful.
At the beginning of act one we learn that Paul is the man in charge – “I’m authority. Power. Strength. The Father.” The fact that the word “Father” has been capitalised suggests that there is lack of religion in this society, which could disturb the audience because it implies that there is no self control within their society and they are all taught to think the way the government wants them to. Paul is clearly the one with more power in this scene and he seems quite experienced and good at his job – until later in the act when Paul has a breakdown and starts to confess to John that he would rather kill himself than give the Cut to another person. We later learn that Paul has a wife and children, but still he’d rather die. Paul is desperate for John to not get the Cut and to consider alternatives. This disturbs the audience and could make them feel uncomfortable because it essentially tells them that the Cut is a horrific thing – and because they are unaware of what it is, it could be anything to them.
When Paul says “Do you think I tell my wife what I do here?” the audience can relate because they don’t know what he does either. Also, the fact that he doesn’t tell his wife – the person he should confide in and love more than anything – could make the audience feel uncomfortable because he doesn’t want to tell his wife about his job which makes the Cut more ambiguous.
I personally think the main reason why there is so much uncertainty within the play is because Mark Ravenhill intended for The Cut to be based on interpretations. There is no wrong or right answer as to what the Cut is. This is what makes it disturbing because the audience will never know for certain.
Act two is based around Paul’s personal life and we learn that his job affects him as a person and the way he behaves. This could also be disturbing for the audience to watch, however, act one gives the audience an insight to their society, their roles and the Cut, whereas act two is mainly focused on Paul’s marriage and the absence of love within his household. Act one is what makes act two more understandable because we learn that the Cut affects lives. Overall, act one is more disturbing to watch than act two.