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

Barbican theatre, London
Caroline Guiela Nguyen’s epic drama explores global labour and personal suffering with moments of haunting power

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.

At Barbican theatre, London, until 27 September, then touring internationally.