L’Alliance New York presents the US Premiere of LACRIMA, written and directed by Caroline Guiela Nguyen

L’Alliance New York presents the US Premiere of LACRIMA, written and directed by Caroline Guiela Nguyen from October 22-25, 2025 at 7:30pm and October 26, 3035 at 3:00pm at BAM Strong Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton St Brooklyn New York, 11217. For tickets and more information, visit https://lallianceny.org/event/lacrima/.

When the Princess of England announces her engagement, a Parisian haute couture fashion house receives an extraordinary commission, and a fascinating story unfolds across continents and generations. Renowned theater maker Caroline Guiela Nguyen transforms the stage into a bustling workshop floor in this sprawling play about the hands that make the garments we covet.

Sworn to complete secrecy, craftspeople around the world embark on eight months of intricate labor in service of a single wedding dress. Marion, the overworked head seamstress of Maison Beliana, fields tough questions from her troubled daughter, while Thérèse, an Alençon lacemaker, comes face to face with a complicated family past. Meanwhile, across the ocean in Mumbai, master embroiderer Abdul fastens 1,000 roses onto duchesse satin as his eyesight rapidly deteriorates. As these men and women all but obliterate themselves in pursuit of perfection, LACRIMA invites us into the space between that which destroys us and that which gives our lives purpose.

“The point LACRIMA makes is that lots of invisible work, much of it underpaid and done in poor conditions, goes into a fashion statement like a royal wedding dress… As international festivals go, Avignon is working hard to tell such rarely heard stories — and overall, it’s paying off.” — Laura Cappelle, The New York Times

In French, with scenes in French Sign Language, Tamil and English, with English surtitles.

Duration: 175 minutes

For more than 160 years, BAM has been a thriving, urban multi-arts complex renowned for presenting an unparalleled roster of visionary and cutting-edge dance, theater, music, opera, visual arts, literature, and film engagements. Attracting more than 750,000 people annually to its home in Brooklyn, BAM provides a welcoming cultural stage and meeting place for global and local communities of all backgrounds. BAM’s distinctive multi-theater campus is alive year-round with inspired new engagements and signature programs alike including the renowned Next Wave (one of the world’s most influential festivals of contemporary performing arts, founded in 1983), the iconic DanceAfrica, an acclaimed repertory film program, and literary, archival, educational and humanities programs. For more information visit BAM.org.

L’Alliance New York is an independent, not-for-profit organization committed to providing its audience and students with engaging French language classes and audacious multi-disciplinary programming that celebrates the diversity of francophone cultures and creativity around the world. A welcoming and inclusive community for all ages and all backgrounds, L’Alliance New York is a place where people can meet, learn, and explore the richness of our heritages and share discoveries. L’Alliance New York strives to amplify voices and build bridges from the entire francophone world to New York and beyond.”

Crossing The Line is a citywide festival that engages international artists and New York City audiences in artistic discovery and critical dialogue to re-imagine the world around us. Crossing The Line is produced by L’Alliance New York in partnership with leading cultural institutions.