A fascinating depiction of resistance, queerness, and Jewishness that promotes a deeply resonant and relevant history.
Who is Claude Cahun?, a new play by D.R. Hill and directed by David Furlong, tells the true story of Claude Cahun and their partner Marcel Moore, two queer artists resisting Nazism on the island of Jersey.
The story itself is fascinating: Claude Cahun (Rivkah Bunker), born Lucy Schwob was a triple threat: Jewish, lesbian, and an artist. They uncomfortable with binary perceptions of gender, and spent most of their life with Marcel (Amelia Armande). Cahun was fascinating: they subscribed to a proto-non-binary identity, saying ‘neuter is the only gender that always suits me.’ Escaping Nazism, they moved to Jersey where they created and distributed anti-German fliers with fervour. Their resistance was rooted in their art, and brimming with their dark humour. They were eventually arrested and sentenced to death, but due to liberation from German occupation, this was never carried out. It makes for both a fascinating and inspiring story.
Dramaturgically, however, the show does it somewhat of a disservice. The dialogue lacks the delicate subtlety needed to serve the subject matter, leaving Claude with the constant refrain of ‘I don’t know who I am, but I am doing what i’ve always done: resisting. Whereas you have always known exactly who you are’. Granted, some of these were lifted from Cahun’s art and literature, but the utilisation was clumsy. Identity is certainly a central conceit here, but the piece suffers from a a lot of telling, and little showing. Exposition and explanation also abound. This lack of nuance undermines the nuance of identity and queer miscellaneousness being explored.
Visually, there were many commendable elements. Projections and stagecraft were used to interesting effect, taking us from Paris to Jersey with theatrical ease. Particularly enjoyable was the use of tapestry art to indicate the inside and outside of a shop. The set design was also creatively versatile, transforming from cottage to prison; from Paris to Jersey, with ease.
Armande was warm and competent as Marcel Moore, matching Bunker’s opposing energy well. Individually, especially with the demands of multirolling, physicality, was well utilised but there were moments when the actors were perhaps done a little dirty with the physical theatre. Some of the arm-flailing which did feel GCSE drama coded.
I write this as a Jewish person who is super hot on pioneering Jewish tales, especially those of resistance and those that use queer lenses. But a lack of subtlety to the piece undermined what was otherwise a remarkable story.
There were a few other questionable stylistic choices. This perhaps stemmed from an attempt to to do too much and cover too much ground. This is often a struggle in a piece that tackles much political and historical ground, perhaps the focus was pulled in two many directions. It’s wonderful to see space dedicated to queer and Jewish figures who have gone under-appreciated, and this in and of itself deserves praise. Dramaturgically, it needed finessing.