The production of LACRIMA from Theatre national de Strasbourg of LACRIMA, one of the most anticipated shows for the Sydney Festival, opened last night at the Roslyn Packer Theatre to a rapturous response.
Latin for “tear”, LACRIMA is a circular tale of people in four world centres rushing to a deadline for a wedding dress ordered by an unnamed English princess, and is an examination of the costs of this endeavour.
Written and directed by Caroline Guiela Nguyen, and at nearly three hours in duration, it is a sprawling cinematic tale told episodically as we follow the labours of the French atelier staff, the ego-driven ambitions of the designer from the House of Baliana, a group of dwindling lace makers from Normandy, to the embroidery workshop in Mumbai who are controlled by European labour laws, and of course, the unseen princess.
All are sworn to secrecy about the project.
Performed in French, English, Tamil and French sign language, the production is made intelligible by a video screen (Jérémie Scheidler ) providing subtitles and also allows us to follow off-stage action and statistical information.
The main stage of the atelier’s workroom, run by the indomitable Marion (Maud Le Grevellec), who employs her husband and relatives, and is constantly interrupted by her troubled daughter, consists of functional tables, a couple of dressed mannequins and accoutrements.
Lit by overhead neon strips, it is white, crisp and virtuous.
With a few movements of tables and adjustments of screens it transforms into the Mumbai workshops and a podcast studio for the interviews with the remaining six lacemakers of Alençon, once a world centre employing over 10,000 lacemakers.
Their task is to restore a 100 year-old veil, housed in the V&A, which will be worn by the princess for 20 minutes, before being placed back into conservatorship.
In the Mumbai workroom, the manager is struggling also. He is having European labour laws, designed to inoculate the fashion houses of blame, thrust upon him, while his master embroiderer, Abdul (Charles Vinoth Irudhayaraj), is going blind and may not be able to finish the commission.
A sub-thread that comes out of nowhere about a genetic family disease also comes to the fore while placing women at the centre of this production.
All of these connecting threads eventually find themselves back to where we began, and three hours have gone-by in a flash.
For all of LACRIMA’s worthy sentiments about how people around the world are exploited in the pursuit of vanity, its stunning visual presentation and often strong performances, it also fails on a number of levels.
Firstly, it fails to recognise that often the actors are inaudible when off mic, which breaks any intimacy and often results in the text chasing a situation to where the actors can return to a microphone, whether that be a phone, a zoom call or the microphones used in the podcasts.
The narrative also often descends into soap opera like situations, such as the first argument between Marion and her husband, when far more nuanced text could be called for. This criticism is most noted in the scene with Abdul, his interpreter and a doctor when he is given the eye test that will determine his immediate future.
While his reactions are visual and are evident in close-up on the screen, the dialogue between the interpreter and doctor is inaudible.
Those seated close to the stage can easily follow the subtitles on the video screen, but this must be a chore for those seated on the gods of the Roslyn Packer Theatre, where the video screen must look the size of a postage stamp.
Guiela Nguyen’s research into the process of dress making has paid off, especially when it is combined with the video feeds of the work in close-up. Sound from Jean-Baptiste Cognet, Teddy Gauliat-Pitois and Antoine Richard is strong and emphatic, adding immensely to the overall cinematic feel of the production.
LACRIMA serves as a warning about all vanity projects and their costs, whether the world of haute couture or any other exploitive industry, and despite its flaws, makes for an enjoyable night.
LACRIMA
Roslyn Packer Theatre, 22 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay (Sydney)
Performance: Thursday 22 January 2026
Season continues to 25 January 2026
Information and Bookings: www.sydneyfestival.org.au
Following the Sydney season, LACRIMA will be presented the Heath Ledger Theatre – State Theatre Centre of WA, as part of the 2026 Perth Festival, from 6 – 10 February.
Images: LACRIMA – photos by Wendell Teodoro
Review: John Moyle