Based on
Les années, Une Femme, Mémoire de fille,
Passion simple, and L’Événement
by Annie Ernaux © Gallimard
In her autobiographical novel The Years (Les Années), Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux skillfully intertwines individual and collective experiences, crafting a shared and reconstructed memory through polished prose and refined literary techniques. Balancing lyrical narration with documentary precision, Ernaux presents her story in the third person, guiding readers through a rich tapestry of autofiction and vivid imagery of France’s past, spanning from the 1940s to the early 21st century.
This layered novel engages with various aspects of everyday life, placing particular emphasis on the female experience, infused with broader societal and political dynamics. Ernaux delicately interlaces themes such as coming of age, friendship, intimacy, the awakening of desire, historical and political transformation, cultural consumption, Catholic tradition, and the evolution of women’s rights — all rendered through deeply personal fragments that resonate with a universal dimension.
In the stage adaptation of Ernaux’s works, director Jovana Tomić and dramaturge Mirna Rustemović centre the story on a woman who reflects on her place in the world by examining her past within a social and political framework and through her most intimate relationships. The treatment of the body plays a central role in the performance’s narrative and language. Corporeality becomes a prism through which a life — and a broader history of women — is revealed.
With her honesty and subtle humour, Annie Ernaux captivates audiences, rendering her deeply personal story universally relevant.
This adaptation draws on Les années and Mémoire de fille (translated into Croatian by Vlatka Valentić, published by OceanMore), Une Femme (translated by Marko Gregorć, published by Kulturtreger and the Multimedia Institute), Passion simple (translated by Ela Agotić, published by Vuković&Runjić), and L’Événement (translated by Milena Ostojić, published by Kulturtreger and the Multimedia Institute).
