Geography: Europe > Western Europe > France
Year: 2024
Produced by: Théâtre national de Strasbourg; co-produced with Festival d’Avignon and an international network of theatres
Creative Team: Written and directed by Caroline Guiela Nguyen; dramaturgy by Penda Diouf and Hugo Soubise; design by Alice Duchange.
Synopsis: LACRIMA follows the secret creation of a wedding dress for the Princess of England. The garment connects a Parisian fashion house to specialist lace-makers in Alençon and Muslim embroiderers working in Mumbai. The trilingual production utilises live feed to convey the video communication that allows the production to move between workspaces without pretending that their workers possess equal power. The immense prestige attached to European haute couture depends upon labour from workers in countries far from those who receive the public credit. Although the embroiderers do not migrate to France, their skills and working lives move through a transnational production chain shaped by colonial inequality. French, Tamil and English are heard alongside French Sign Language. The production asked what labour goes into luxury objects and how secrecy prevents workers and migrantsfrom recognising their shared conditions across international borders.
Source: Festival d’Avignon, official production page and credits: https://festival-avignon.com/en/edition-2024/programme/lacrima-348439 Festival d’Avignon, interview with Caroline Guiela Nguyen about the research and production process: https://festival-avignon.com/fr/entretien-avec-caroline-guiela-nguyen-349743 LACRIMA review by Vannie Krishnan https://limelight-arts.com.au/reviews/lacrima-caroline-guiela-nguyen-theatre-national-de-strasbourg-sydn ey-festival/