French play La douleur (The Pain) will premiere for a single night run, on Thursday (February 24) night, at the Hanoi Opera House.

 

Cesar Award Winner Dominique Blanc will lead the cast in the play which was adapted from the autobiography and diary of Marguerite Duras of L’Amant (The Lover).

Directed by Patrice Chereau and Thierry Thieu Niang, the drama won Blanc a Moliere prize for best theatrical actress in 2010, when the play debuted in France.

The one night performance will take place entirely in French, with Vietnamese subtitles.

The production depicts Duras’ daily life during World War II, following the liberation of Paris. The title takes its name from the pain felt by Duras as she anxiously awaits her husband’s return from a prison camp.

Born in 1914 in Gia Dinh (a former name for Ho Chi Minh City), Duras went on to write many novels, plays, films, essays and short fiction—including her best-selling, apparently autobiographical work L’Amant in 1984.

Tickets, which range between VND100.000—200.000 can only be obtained at L’Espace in Hanoi.