Who is Claude Cahun?
Southwark Playhouse (Borough)
18th June to 12th July 2025
“A poignant new production Who is Claude Cahun? written by D.R. Hill (Draining The Swamp, UK Tour; House Clearance, Dixon and Galt) will be coming to Southwark Playhouse Borough this Pride month. This powerful 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. Created by DRH Arts in association with Exchange Theatre, Who is Claude Cahun? reclaims a vital chapter of queer and trans history. 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.”
Review by Richard Lambert, 3 Stars
An ambitious technical presentation of a truly remarkable story that is now thankfully being told. The title of the show is very clever – we don’t know who Claude Cahun is, and we should, but deeper than that, as the show gets into its swing you realise that Claude doesn’t know who they is either. (I’m using “they” because this production did the same and used the modern-day reference pronoun despite the play being set in 1930’s Paris and 1940’s Jersey). There is a gender identity and a personal identity crisis in Claude but despite all this there was never any wavering in the love that the “sisters” (to attempt to squash rumours) had for each other.
The sisters, extremely bold in their time, were writing leaflets calling for citizens and soldiers to rebel, put down their arms, and not fight for their German leaders. Distributing these leaflets was dangerous but they continued to do so. Eventually getting caught but the Gestapo couldn’t believe that 2 sisters could do such a thing without having soldiers and officers (men of course) assisting or leading them. Their lifestyle, a little naturist when it came to swimming, and living together on independent means without a man’s support was also viewed with scepticism.
The story behind this production rings out loud and clear and is educational. Not only due to it’s being true-life but also to realise that what we’re seeing in the USA right now is a direct copy of what happened back then. People disappearing from the Streets, anyone who doesn’t agree being imprisoned.
The lighting, set and video departments seem to have slightly over-indulged. Video seems to have won over lighting, and the Set looms large in every scene. Clearly there was planning – lighting placed to backlight through the set arches, for example – but somehow, as a cohesive production, its rather over-whelming. Just one example, seeing the bus arrive as a projection on the front of a sculpture of a face is probably not necessary when the point of the scene is everyone is taken off the bus for scrutiny and the sisters remain for questioning. With the video used to set the scene but it then continues through the scene and splashes brightly across the actors’ faces in almost every scene it is quite intrusive and distracting. Sometime less is more.
The cast do a grand job of multi-role’ing the characters. With so many characters played by 3 actors I was impressed that there was clarity in their distinctive roles. There are a couple of dream scenes and some occasional absurd’ish theatrical moments. I’m sure others from a more performance background would relish the chance to perform in this manner, however, they didn’t land well for me.
At 2 hours and 15 mins including an interval this is a long play. It could be trimmed a lot without losing any of the dramaturg or anyone asking for their money back.
I’m glad I went to see this show and now actually do know who is Claude Cahun.
Cast
Rivkah Bunker
Amelia Armande
Sharon Drain
Ben Bela Bohm
Gethin Alderman
Director David Furlong (he/him)
Writer D.R. Hill (he/him)
Set Designer Juliette Demoulin (she/her)
Video Designer Jeffrey Choy (he/him)
Costumer Designer Carla Joy Evans (she/her)
Lighting Designer Matthew Biss(he/him)
Workshop facilitator Ashleigh Loeb (she/her)
Stage Manager/Technician Venus Raven (she/her)
Digital Workshop Film Maker Ghost (he/him)
Guidance12+
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