The Years (stage version)
1 Aug 2024Size: 198mm x 129mm
1 Aug 2024
The Years (stage version)
Paperback
£10.99£8.79
Ebook
£10.99£8.79
Harold Pinter Theatre, West End
From Fri 24 Jan 2025 to Sat 19 Apr 2025
She strikes a pose and the camera shutter clicks... A child playing in the debris of the Second World War. Click. A student discovering parties and men's bodies. Click. An activist fighting for the right to choose. Click. A wife picking out a velvet sofa. Click. A mother taking her eldest to judo. Click. A lover, seducing a younger man. Click. A grandmother presenting her granddaughter to the camera. Click.
The Years/Les années is Annie Ernaux's critically acclaimed 'masterpiece' (Guardian), charting a woman's personal and political life against the backdrop of a rapidly changing post-war Europe.
Eline Arbo's inventive stage adaptation was premiered as De jaren by Het Nationale Theater in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2022. It was first performed, in an English-language version by Stephanie Bain – after the translations by Alison L. Strayer and Tanya Leslie – at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2024, with a cast of five women collectively bringing to life the story of one woman, and a whole continent.
It transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End in 2025.
'Nothing short of theatrical magic' De Nederlandse Toneeljury
'Memory pairs the dead with the living, real with imaginary beings, dreams with history.'
'A remarkable stage adaptation that leads to a special catharsis through nostalgia, sadness and lots of humour'
Volkskrant'An extraordinarily profound and yet playful drama... Eline Arbo's adaptation celebrates the multitudes contained within a single life... devastating... joyous... shatteringly raw... There is so much emotional depth, surprise and theatrical virtuosity here that it holds you rapt... What an accomplishment'
Guardian'Stunning... a swoon-worthy smash... joyous... a real eye-opener'
The Times'A unique, profoundly moving experience... manages the extraordinary feat of intricately telling the story of a whole life in less than two hours... finds laughter in tragedy and devastating detail in mundanity. It moved me in ways theatre often tries to but rarely achieves... utterly remarkable'
Independent'A vivid, moving memoir play that celebrates the astonishment of being alive'
Time Out'Unforgettable... strangely magnificent... full of roaring life'
WhatsOnStage'Fascinating, funny and moving'
Daily Mail'Startling and enthralling... a perfect dramatic extrapolation of Ernaux's slippery narrative... I absolutely loved it'
Evening Standard'Brilliant... visceral... Ernaux speaks eloquently for for anyone with an open mind and a pulse'
Financial Times'Vivid and profound... a superlative two hours'
iNews'A brave and ambitious take on Ernaux's book that leans into its themes of female emancipation and the circular nature of history and memory'
Telegraph'Powerful... a must-see for its poignant, thought-provoking, and ultimately affirming portrayal of a woman's life'
West End Best Friend'Captivating, funny and harrowing... a wonderfully literate and totally absorbing piece of storytelling'
Reviews Hub1 Aug 2024Size: 198mm x 129mm
1 Aug 2024
