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The Institut français accompanies "Lacrima", Caroline Guiela Nguyen's new play
Published on 25 February 2025
With Lacrima, Caroline Guiela Nguyen shines the spotlight on shadow workers through a choral narrative that travels from Paris to Alençon via Mumbai. Acclaimed at the recent Avignon Festival, the play has just been presented at the Théâtre de l'Odéon ahead of an international tour, which will take in North America and Southern Europe with the support of the Institut français.
A prolific career
Born on September 12, 1981 in Poissy, Caroline Guiela Nguyen is a French author, director and producer. After studying sociology and performing arts at the University of Nice, in 2005 she joined Group 37 of the École supérieure d'art dramatique de Strasbourg, at the Théâtre national, in the directing and dramaturgy section. In 2009, she founded the company Les Hommes Approximatifs, which invents narratives and stories for missing bodies, absent from theater stages. Creations such as Se souvenir de Violetta in 2011, Elle brûle in 2013 and SAIGON in 2017 saw the light of day. Lacrima is his first staging since taking over at the Théâtre national de Strasbourg.
A mythical creation
Lacrima features Béliana, a prestigious Parisian fashion house faced with a first-rate commission: to make the future wedding dress of the Princess of England. For this occasion, seamstresses, pattern-makers, studio assistants and embroiderers work between Paris, Alençon and Mumbai in the utmost secrecy. The creation of this essential dress for history becomes the scene of workshops bubbling with effervescence, but also of secrets heavy to bear for the shadow workers, pushed to their limits.
A realistic and lyrical vision
In Lacrima, Caroline Guiela Nguyen uses fabric as a precious material to tell the story of our society. With it, she imagines threads stretched between people, capable of linking generations in the four corners of the world. Labor-worn bodies recount family and personal histories, where violence intertwines with linen and cotton threads. With deep realism and a touch of lyricism, the director delivers, in hollow, a powerful critique of capitalism, choosing to place characters often left in the shadows in the center of the light.
Supported by the Institut français
In the summer of 2024, Lacrima was acclaimed at the Festival d'Avignon by audiences and critics alike. The show was revived at the Théâtre de l'Odéon from January 7 to February 6, 2025, before touring France and Europe. The play will be presented in Lyon and Rennes, before moving on to Luxembourg on March 14 and 15, then Liège from March 20 to 21 and Madrid from March 28 to 30, 2025. The Institut français is also supporting the play in 2025, as part of its IF Export program, for a major international tour of North America and Southern Europe.
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