'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.

Les Années (The Years) 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, with a cast of five women collectively bringing to life an unapologetic portrait of one woman, and a whole continent. Arbo directed her adaptation at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2024, in an English language version by Stephanie Bain – with reference to translations by Alison L. Strayer and Tanya Leslie. In 2025, The Years transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions.

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'A remarkable stage adaptation that leads to a special catharsis through nostalgia, sadness and lots of humour'

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'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'

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'Stunning... a swoon-worthy smash... joyous... a real eye-opener'

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'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'

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'A vivid, moving memoir play that celebrates the astonishment of being alive'

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'Unforgettable... strangely magnificent... full of roaring life'

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'Fascinating, funny and moving'

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'Startling and enthralling... a perfect dramatic extrapolation of Ernaux's slippery narrative... I absolutely loved it'

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'Brilliant... visceral... Ernaux speaks eloquently for for anyone with an open mind and a pulse'

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'Vivid and profound... a superlative two hours'

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'Unmissable... spellbinding... exquisitely mysterious, like life itself'

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'Powerful... a must-see for its poignant, thought-provoking, and ultimately affirming portrayal of a woman's life'

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'Captivating, funny and harrowing... a wonderfully literate and totally absorbing piece of storytelling'

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'Head and shoulders above other adaptations in the West End... has the power to magic up emotion from simple ingredients... a gorgeous interplay of stagecraft and storytelling'

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'A bravura, joyous feat of storytelling... quietly dazzling'

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'As powerful as anything I've ever witnessed on stage... two hours of perfection... Theatre really doesn't come any better than this'