Review Roundup: THE YEARS Opens at Almeida Theatre

The Almeida Theatre is presenting Eline Arbo’s The Years, directed by Eline Arbo. Deborah Findlay, Romola Garai, Gina McKee, Anjli Mohindra and Harmony Rose-Bremner star in the UK premiere. The production is based on Les Années by Annie Ernaux. 

Memory never stops. It pairs the dead with the living, real with imaginary beings, dreams with history.  

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  

Internationaal Theater Amsterdam’s new Artistic Director Eline Arbo directs her inventive stage adaptation of Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux’s novel. Five different actors bring one woman’s personal and political story to life, set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing post-war Europe.   

See what the critics are saying...

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Gary Naylor, BroadwayWorld: The rigidity of the timeline makes everything easy to follow - I think we’ve all had enough of fractured storytelling over the last 20 years or so of cinema. That said, it does lend a somewhat facile element to the narrative, each photo (each ‘year’) introduced with a rehash of the political, cultural and social events underway. Maybe that’s necessary, as this is a Frenchwoman’s history in France, so the rise of Le Pen senior and the declining role of the Catholic church needs teasing out. But it’s a The Rock 'n' Roll Years approach to history lending an unwelcome superficiality to a play that has high culture aspirations ('The Beatles!'). Surely the soundtrack, acting and dialogue would have been enough?

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: Running at near two hours straight though, you feel the passage of time, both in this protagonist’s life and your own. It leaves theoretical questions around history, memory and love in the mind, long after its end. There is so much emotional depth, surprise and theatrical virtuosity here that it holds you rapt across the ages. What an accomplishment.

Stephanie Osztreicher, West End Best Friend: The dialogue, partly adapted directly from Ernaux’s text, flows seamlessly into physical sequences without feeling overwritten. Juul Dekker’s minimal set design, utilising white sheets as a visual motif, evolves beautifully throughout the play. These sheets, stained with blood, wine, and food, eventually transform into a childlike hanging mobile above the stage, with projected faces of each version of Annie, leaving a lasting, bittersweet impression of a well-lived life. The sound design from Thijs Van Vuure and costumes from Rebekka Wörkmann successfully transform the ever changing time periods without becoming too garish or cliché which is often a risk. Despite its challenging themes, The Years is largely uplifting, celebrating womanhood in all its complexity. It is a must-see for its poignant, thought-provoking, and ultimately affirming portrayal of a woman’s life.

Nick Curtis, Evening Standard: My reservations? It’s yet another play where a writer bangs on about writing and showcases their own impeccable cultural taste (Ernaux’s avatar has read “all of Flaubert” and exclusively watches arthouse films). And the stage version has also slightly, probably rightly, sanitised the book’s frank expressions of the covert prejudice that even self-professed liberals hold. Anyway, you should see it for this cast. Findlay may be less well known outside theatre circles (despite a strong screen career), but her presence is a guarantee of quality. McKee’s blend of nuance and swagger here made me think she should be the next Doctor Who. Garai is commandingly brilliant. Mohindra and Rose-Bremner are bold and charming. A winner

Andrzej Lukowski, TimeOut: The production has attracted a bit of controversy after a few audience members fainted at an early performance during a scene where a younger Ernaux has an abortion. It’s the show’s most gruelling moment but it would be a shame if it gave ‘The Years’ a reputation for being wilfully challenging. In fact it’s a playful couple of hours, fluidly directed by Albo. There are harrowing moments but it’s also full of humour and humorous interplay. In an early scene an adolescent Ernaux (played by Mohindra) discovers the joys of wanking; the other actors form an awkward protective barrier around her as she gets to noisy work on herself, a flustered McKee trying to continue the story.

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