Anna Karenina at Nanterre-Amandiers: a social trial on stage

Having already explored the fates of Jane Eyre, Emma Bovary and Mrs Dalloway, director Carme Portaceli has now turned her attention to another of literature's tragic heroines: Anna Karenina, the central figure in Leo Tolstoy's novel, transposed here in a contemporary reading by Anna Maria Ricart Codina and Portaceli herself. The play, which lasts 3h10 with intermission, is presented at Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers from May 7 to 10, 2025.

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In Anna Karenina, the story follows Anna, who has come to Moscow to save her adulterous brother's marriage, and who crosses paths with Vronsky, a young officer with whom she falls madly in love. In a fit of passion, she abandons husband and child to live this relationship to the full, in defiance of social convention. This choice, misunderstood and condemned, gradually leads her to exclusion, solitude and tragedy. The staging would offer a dual perspective: on the one hand, the intimate story of Anna and other women; on the other, the implacable pressure exerted by a patriarchal society that judges, isolates and crushes.

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This contemporary reinterpretation of Anna Karenina would appeal to audiences curious about the great classic stories reinterpreted from a feminist angle, to those interested in the condition of women throughout history, and to fans of committed theater that is at once political, literary and sensitive. The play would combine narration, imagined testimonies and dialogue passages to create a scenic space for collective reflection.

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It may be less suited to those seeking a traditional narrative faithful to Tolstoy 's text, or to action-centred theater. Here, the form would be more exploded, carried by a critical and assertive look at the social mechanisms of domination.

This article is based on information available before the show. It is not based on a direct vision of the show.

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