Southwark Playhouse Borough will set the stage for Who is Claude Cahun?, the true story of a queer artist who defied the Nazis.
Debuting in June, the poignant new production comes from writer DR Hill (Draining the Swamp).
The production will bring to life the extraordinary true story of trailblazing Jewish lesbian artist Claude Cahun, who defied the Nazi regime through acts of artistic resistance on the occupied island of Jersey during the Second World War.
Born Lucy Schwob into a French Jewish family, Cahun, along with lifelong partner Marcel Moore (born Suzanne Malherbe), escaped the confines of a male-dominated surrealist art scene in Paris and relocated to Jersey. When the Nazis occupied the Channel Islands in 1940, the couple launched a bold guerrilla campaign of subversive art to resist fascism – all while evading the Gestapo.
Lilit Lesser (Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light) stars as Cahun, with Amelia Armande (Grace) as Marcel Moore, and a cast including Ben Bela Böhm (Better Call Saul), Sharon Drain (Emmerdale) and Gethin Alderman (Einstein and the Bomb) in multiple roles.
Directed by David Furlong, the show will feature immersive projection mapping, moving images, surreal masks and physical theatre to reimagine Cahun’s surrealist world and underground resistance.
The creative team also includes set designer Juliette Demoulin, video designer Jeffrey Choy, costumer designer Carla Joy Evans, lightning designer Matthew Biss and workshop facilitator Ashleigh Loeb.
Who is Claude Cahun? runs from Wednesday, June 18 to Saturday, July 12. Tickets: Who is Claude Cahun?
Top image: Lilit Lesser (credit Asia Werber), Amelia Armande (credit YellowBellyPhoto), Ben Bela Boehm (credit Urban Roots), Sharon Drain (credit A P Wilding) and Gethin Alderman (credit Ruth Crafer) (all images supplied)