A London premiere of an award-winning drama experienced a ten-minute halt during a preview run on Monday, as multiple male attendees required medical aid following an explicit abortion scene. The play, titled ‘The Years’ and directed by Eline Arbo, unfolds the private and political journey of a woman against the fluctuating backdrop of postwar Europe, touching upon themes as varied as reproductive improvement and workplace sexism.
Inspired by the memoir “Les Années” by French laureate of the Nobel Prize, Annie Ernaux, five actors including renowned performers Romola Garai (renowned for ‘The Hour’ and ‘Atonement’) and Gina Mckee (‘Our Friends in the North’) portray the central character at varying life stages.
The two-hour play, which originally debuted in Amsterdam in 2022 ahead of its UK opening at the Almeida Theatre on Thursday, incorporates a detailed portrayal of a backstreet abortion about midway through the duration. As the scene unfolded, one man towards the front of the audience signalled that he was feeling light-headed, sparking gestures for help from nearby attendees. He was subsequently escorted to the bar area outside, joined shortly by several other patrons who similarly reported feelings of faintness.
In the midst of the interruption, one viewer, amidst the uproar, reportedly condemned the scene from the circle as “a disgrace”, claiming that no prior warning had been given. The actors on stage unexpectedly responded, noting that the theatre’s guidance had indeed flagged warnings about the abortion depiction. The Almeida Theatre’s website, the show’s programme, and emails delivered to ticket holders simultaneously flagged the audience with guidance indicating that ‘The Years’ incorporated sexual content, a explicit representation of abortion, a manipulated sexual encounter and blood.
In its announcement, the theatre informed the public that the Monday show of ‘The Years’ was briefly interrupted for 10 minutes as staff attended to an audience member who needed help. During the interruption, aid was also given to three additional viewers. Each individual demonstrated a swift recovery following the short assistance given.
The theatre further indicated that advisories were available on multiple platforms – the Almeida website, the ticket reservation site, emails sent prior to the visit, and on signs at the theatre’s entrance.
Before its showing in the UK, the play won critical acclaim in Amsterdam, with a local paper praising it as an “illuminating narrative of an epoch and a life”. The performers of the play also had a chat with The Guardian about the play’s relevance to their lives and their thoughts on the contemporary feminist movement.
Garai voiced her concerns about the state of the feminist movement, stating, “I believe it is currently in a precarious state.” She further elaborated that once women’s rights such as right to vote, legal recognition as independent from their husbands, right to abort, are achieved, it becomes challenging to address the more nuanced ways in which women are still oppressed.
‘The Years’ is not the premier theatre piece to have triggered woozy sensations amongst the spectators. In 2016, a similar occurrence happened with National Theatre’s ‘Cleansed’, causing five individuals to faint due to graphic depictions of violence, torture and sexual assault. It was so controversial that, in its initial week, 40 attendees left midway through.
A West End play, ‘A Little Life’, also had viewers leaving the theatre due to its explicit representations of self-abuse, suicide and child maltreatment. One person described the theatrical adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s book, with James Norton in a leading role, as possibly the “most distressing and graphic” play they had ever seen.
At an Edinburgh festival show last year, performer Eloina Haines had to pause her performance to assist an audience member who was on the brink of fainting.