The Years
Closing: April 19, 2025The Years - 2025 West End History , Info & More
Harold Pinter Theatre
Panton Street London SW1Y 4DN London
★★★★★ ‘A masterpiece - extraordinarily profound and yet playful drama’ - The Guardian
The five-star sold out production of The Years transfers to the West End for 12 weeks only.
Based on Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux’s fearless masterpiece, five actors create an unapologetic portrait of a woman shaped by her rapidly-changing world.
Memory never stops. It pairs the dead with the living, real with imaginary beings, dreams with history.
She strikes a pose and the camera shutter clicks: A child playing in the debris of the Second World War. Click. A student discovering parties and men’s bodies. Click. An activist fighting for the right to choose. Click. A wife picking out a velvet sofa. Click. A mother taking her eldest to judo. Click. A lover seducing a younger man. Click. A grandmother presenting her granddaughter to the camera. Click.
Deborah Findlay, Romola Garai, Gina McKee, Anjli Mohindra and Harmony Rose-Bremner give ‘extraordinary performances’ (The Observer) in Eline Arbo’s inventive adaptation, following sold out runs at the Almeida Theatre and International Theatre Amsterdam.
Coming to the West End for a strictly limited 12 week run beginning January 2025. Romola Garai will be in performances of The Years through Saturday 8 March. Further casting to be announced at a later date.
★★★★★ ‘A unique, profoundly moving experience. It moved me in ways theatre often tries to but rarely achieves’ The Independent
__Assisted Perfromances:__
BSL, 8 March, 2:30pm
Captioned, 15 March, 2:30pm
Audio Described, 22 March, 2:30pm
The Years - 2025 - West End Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR The Years
A profound and shattering depiction of womanhood
10 / 10
Ernaux’s memoir defies form — it is both personal and objective, employing the collective ‘we’ to discuss communal experiences. The word ‘I’ is absent in her writing, but Arbo brings us even closer to Ernaux by relaxing this objective stance in choice moments, such as a forced first sexual encounter and an abortion scene. The result of both is shattering, thanks to moving and raw performances by Mohindra and Garai. The latter performance, which has been the subject of numerous headlines since the play’s first UK outing at the Almeida Theatre in 2024, is particularly brave from Garai, as she bucks on a table, toes curling, her thighs coated in blood. The scene is horrific without being gratuitous, though the show’s well-signposted trigger warnings are much needed.
A heart-breaking and life-affirming celebration of womanhood
9 / 10
The production prompts big questions: Who are we supposed to be? How will we be remembered? The Years does not offer an answer, only the aching reminder of what we must ask ourselves before it’s too late, and to enjoy the time we have whilst we’re here. And what an enjoyable time it is to spend 2 hours in its company. I urge everyone to go.
The Years History
Other Productions of The Years
| 1992 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
| 2025 | West End |
West End |
Videos