A scene of a clandestine abortion in a play in London causes multiple fainting in the public

The play ‘The Years’, (the years) adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s novel, has aroused intense reactions in the public since its premiere. Directed by the Norway Eline Arbo and starring the British Romola Garai, the staging has become a phenomenon, especially because of the visceral impact that produces one of her most controversial scenes: a recreation raw and detailed of an illegal abortion. The director and the cast claim to be surprised by the number of spectators who, since last summer, have reached faint During the representation, a phenomenon that, curiously, has been much more frequent among men.

The work, which began its journey in the Almeida Theater with a series of presentations whose entries were sold completely, has been subject to controversy and discussion in social media and networks. Production, acclaimed by criticsmoved to the West End due to its success, specifically to the Harold Pinter Theater, where it will be until April 19.

Arbo has been intrigued by the effect that the “Trigger Warnings have had. According to the director, these “graphic content warnings” of production, which seek to prepare the public for an intense experience, seem to have the opposite effect To the desired one: instead of protecting, they exacerbate the sense of anticipation and previous discomfort.

«My experience is that there is More reactions when there are warnings that when there are no. It is a way that the theater apologizes to itself, but makes the public so aware of what it will see, that discomfort intensifies, ”Arbo explained to the ‘Financial Times’, after pointing out that in Amsterdam, where The work was presented before its arrival in London, no warnings of content were used and, curiously, no fain or extreme reactions were recorded in the public.

The scene in question shows Garai graphically describing the experience of a clandestine abortion. Although representation is not particularly explicit in visual terms, the narration is so detailed that manages to deeply impact the audience. In an interview with ‘The Sunday Times’, Garai commented that the public’s reaction has been “very visceral.” «Interestingly, the scene It is not very graphicbut the description is very detailed and that is what comes to people, ”said the actress. «People are not accustomed to the raw facts about abortion. Either because they disgust them the action or because they are trying to protect it as a women’s rightthey do not feel the need to enter that type of detail ».

The reflection of Arbo and Garai points, according to them, to a deeper problem: the Historical invisibility of female experience in art and culture. Annie Ernaux, author of the novel on which the work is based, has been a pioneer in giving voice to this reality, facing the culture of silence that has surrounded the issue of abortion for decades. In his autobiographical book ‘the event, Ernaux wrote: “I don’t think there is a single museum in the world whose collections include a work entitled’ The study of the abortionist ‘”.

Culture of silence

This absence of representation is not accidental. During the twentieth century, artists such as Frida Kahlo, Paula Rego and Tracey Emin tried to transfer their body experience to art, but their works were marginalized or ridiculed. Rego, for example, dedicated a series of abortion paintings, showing the rawness of a reality that many women have lived in silence. In Ernaux’s words, his goal has been to create a language for an experience that “It takes place in language”.

The impact of ‘The Years’ on the male audiencein particular, reveals something significant: many men seem to be confronting for the first time the reality of what an abortion implies. Although some have accompanied their partners in the process, it is evident that the dominant narrative has maintained this experience in the shadow, as a private and shameful problem.

At a time when abortion is still a debate, and in which representations of female experience have begun to occupy a central space in culture, ‘The Years’ stands as a milestone. Like other projects inspired by Ernaux’s work, such as the film ‘The event’ or the acclaimed ‘portrait of a woman in flames’ by Céline Sciamma, the work contributes to make visible a hidden reality.

The work will continue its journey at the West End until next April, and it remains to be seen if there will be more fainting before the season ends. But beyond the immediate reactions, the true value of ‘The Years’ resides in its ability to bother Remove consciences and to put an experience that deserves to be heard and felt. As Arbo concludes: “If that is shocking or even scandalous, then it was time to happen.”