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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Arifa Akbar

Lacrima review – gripping saga of a wedding dress unravels fashion industry exploitation

The cast of Lacrima at the Barbican theatre, London
Chokingly emotive … Lacrima is at Barbican theatre, London. Photograph: Jean-Louis Fernandez

A three-hour durational show with a three-minute pause rather than an interval is a daunting prospect. However, Lacrima gathers its pace meditatively before it begins to hurtle and then becomes devastating viewing from which you can’t look away.

The marriage of an unnamed British princess has been announced and the making of her wedding dress, by a British designer, is under way. He enlists a Parisian atelier that outsources its most labour-intensive work to an Indian tailor. The dress is a wildly elaborate concoction of embroidered silk, handmade lace and a 200-metre train of 150,000 pearls.

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