'Memory 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.

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.

'Nothing short of theatrical magic' De Nederlandse Toneeljury

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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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'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'

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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'