Opening next month at Southwark Playhouse Borough, DR Hill’s new play Who is Claude Cahun? focuses on the 20th century artist and world war propagandist.
“Born Lucy Schwob, a queer artist and writer, part of the surrealist movement in Paris in the 1930s, Claude Cahun struggled in their search for gender identity in the male dominated art world.
From a Jewish family, they relocated to the island of Jersey, with their long-term partner, Marcel Moore (born Suzanne Malherbe).
When the island was occupied by the Nazis in 1940, the pair used guerrilla art to actively resist the occupying forces. Pursued by the Gestapo, their true story is a forgotten tale of courage, and determination to be true to personal identity.”
Where: Southwark Playhouse Borough (Little)
When: 18 Jun – 12 Jul
Ticket link: www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
We asked DR Hill to tell us more about the play, and about Cahun.
Claude Cahun is a fascinating figure in 20th century, as well as playing a major role in Second World War resistance and propaganda. What gave you the idea of bringing them back to life?
In 2020 I was researching and writing my previous play, Draining the Swamp, exploring the rise of Oswald Mosley and British fascism in the 1930’s, and I came across the story of Claude Cahun and was immediately intrigued. I had not intended to write another play set in that period, but as I started to research both Claude Cahun, and their partner, Marcel Moore, I was hooked!
When I talked about their story with other people I was amazed how few people had ever heard of them, and yet their life stories are dramatic, courageous and irresistibly relevant today. Here were people who resisted Nazi oppression during WW2 using a form of guerrilla art, that was both non-violent and effective. As we struggle to find effective means of activism today, there is much to learn and admire from the activities of this enigmatic, queer couple. I wanted to write the drama of their story, explore the identity issues they confronted, and also celebrate the active resistance they pursued.
Cahun explored genderqueer and transgender identities in their work, which is obviously very relevant to today. Was this something you particularly wanted to explore from the start?
Yes, it was the question of identity, in the broadest sense that I felt lay at the heart of the play I wanted to write. Here was an artist who unflinchingly explored their perception of identity and confronted all aspects of their personality in a search for the truth. Imagine how challenging it was back in the 1930s and 1940s to present as transgender. Cahun’s story and brave determination to find, and be themselves, has much relevance today. Cahun can be an iconic role model and a champion.
But it is not only Claude Cahun (born Lucy Schwob) who experiences identity challenges in the play. The title of the play is Who is Claude Cahun? and Claude is the person in the couple who is given profile and reverence. But what about their partner and photographer, Marcel Moore? What was Moore’s identity? And I also wanted to explore the identity of other characters in the play, which features five actors, three of whom are playing multiple roles.
The show uses inclusive performers and masks/movement inspired by Surrealism. What should audiences expect to see?
We have recruited a very talented and diverse cast and creative team. The production uses moving and still image projection and projection mapping, to both help set locations of different scenes, but also to capture the essence of surrealism which was the innovative and progressive style of art being explored at the time. Claude and Marcel were part of the eminent surrealist group in Paris, a group which included Picasso, Dali and Andre Breton.
Our projections (designed by Jeffrey Choy), and the use of stylised movement and some masks, will bring visual spectacle to the production and hopefully enhance the ambience and sense of immersion in the period for our audience. Juliette Demoulin has designed an atmospheric set which allows for a range of interior and exterior locations, including the prison where Cahun and Moore were held by the Gestapo after their guerrilla art activities were discovered.
As well as Cahun, this show focuses on their partner Marcel Moore – what do we know about them?
There is much less known about Marcel Moore, although Jersey Heritage Archive does hold some pictures of Marcel as well as the many extraordinary portraits of Claude Cahun. Moore gets little mention in accounts of the activities of the couple. Indeed the blue plaque on the side of their former home in St Brelade’s Bay, Jersey, only mentions that Claude Cahun lived here. Writing both characters has required a leap of artistic imagination, but even more so in the case of Marcel Moore (born Suzanne Malherbe).
Can you describe the show in three words?
Dramatic Poignant Celebratory