Review: LACRIMA, Barbican Theatre
Caroline Guiela Nguyen’s LACRIMA is a staggeringly ambitious, searing expose of exploitation in the fashion industry and what people are prepared to sacrifice in the pursuit of beauty. At almost three hours in length it is a bold undertaking, but the result is a powerful, multi-lingual drama that raises important questions about power, ethics, and ambition.
The UK is preparing for a royal wedding and an unnamed princess is on the hunt for the perfect dress. A British designer secures the coveted job, setting in motion an epic global project that brings together a Parisian atelier, tailors in Mumbai and a group of lacemakers from Alençon whose lifeblood it is to keep their ancient craft alive.
LACRIMA by Caroline Guiela Nguyen Credit Jean Louis Fernandez
The design is unimaginably complex: 150,000 hand-sewn pearls, a 200m train and the restoration of a historic veil that has spent years sealed in a temperature-controlled room at the V&A. As the weight of royal expectation bears down, the project spirals into a personal and professional drama of epic proportions.
Marion (Maud Le Grevellec), the head seamstress in Paris, is trapped in an abusive marriage to jealous, manipulative Julien (Dan Artus), who works beside her in the atelier. In Mumbai, Abdul (Charles Vinoth Irudhayaraj) labours day and night hand-stitching pearls and beads, unknowingly causing permanent damage to his eyesight. The owner of the tailors (Vasanth Selvam), who employs Abdul, battles with the strict international rules on labour and working conditions that govern the dress’ creation whilst also being asked to produce enormous amounts of work to meet the palace’s tight deadlines.
LACRIMA by Caroline Guiela Nguyen Credit Jean Louis Fernandez
These parallel lives gather pace with an almost suffocating intensity as the play hurtles towards its conclusion. The characters are trapped between their dedication to their craft and the pressures bubbling just beneath the surface that threaten to overwhelm them at any moment.
Nguyen’s background in filmmaking is apparent. The play has an impressive cinematic quality that adeptly balances multiple storylines, shifting easily between time zones and geographies. An overhead screen is used to clever effect, displaying the production’s surtitles whilst also sharing close-ups of lacemaking or embroidery that remind the audience of the ever-present pressures of labour. A fictitious podcast recording is another effective layer that provides contextualinsight into the ancient art of lacemaking.
LACRIMA by Caroline Guiela Nguyen Credit Jean Louis Fernandez
In this considered, powerful production, the story of a dress becomes so much more. Nguyen’s drama is almost Shakespearean in its complex tragedy, shaped by the twin powers of suffering and passion.
There are a few areas where the plot could be tightened – a storyline involving the granddaughter of one of the lacemakers doesn’t add much, and it risks teetering into melodrama towards the end when Marion employs increasingly risky strategies to complete the dress. However, this is an undeniably unique and gripping performance that uncovers the shadows lurking beneath the surface of one of the world’s most luxurious industries.
UK premiere of LACRIMA by Caroline Guiela Nguyen, Barbican Theatre 25 – 27 September 2025. Tickets from £16 available here barbican.org.uk.
Words by Ellen Hodgetts
