Drama Review: Stolen Ground

Chronicle.lu had the opportunity to sit in on the opening night performance of Stolen Ground at the Théâtre des Capucins in Luxembourg-Ville on Wednesday evening.

This English-language play is the second collaboration between playwright Anna Leader and director Richard Twyman.

Stolen Ground tells the story of a teenage girl who invites her new friend from their elite boarding school to spend the school Christmas break with her and her family in their large estate abroad. The girls (whose names are not revealed) are from divergent backgrounds, both racially and financially.

The play opens with the friend's arrival and her discovery that the girl's grandfather has recently passed away. The girl's mother is also mysteriously absent. When the friend reveals that there are problems with her school scholarship, with her return to the school being in doubt, the girl offers her the inheritance she is about to receive from her grandfather. This decision has far-reaching and unexpected consequences.

The teenagers probe into the grandfather's background, history and the origin of his extreme wealth. The reality of what they unearth takes a toll, as their background differences come to the forefront. Can their burgeoning friendship survive the holidays as they are forced to face the ongoing effects of the family legacy?

Friendship is the central theme of this passionate play that also explores the complexities of historical decisions and incidences that reverberate into the present and beyond. The intensity of their new friendship is wonderfully portrayed by both young actors. Their torment and confusion, as they wrestle with their discovery, intensify until they finally confront one another. They question the foundation of the friendship - are they truly friends or is the relationship based on mutual benefit? The girl's relationship with her father is also under the spotlight as he continues to bury and ignore the past and remains resistant to future changes.

The girl is energetically portrayed by Dorothée Neff, whereas her friend’s more serious character is skilfully brought to life by Shayde Sinclair.  The somewhat eccentric father is comically portrayed by Philipp Alfons Heitmann. Marco Lorenzini appears as the grandfather in video scenes throughout.

The play is part of an adolescence-themed theatre season and is based on the playwright's personal investigation into her own family's history and her experience teaching in private schools. It examines how today's adolescents cope when confronted with the reality that the past continues to reverberate into the present. Speaking to Chronicle.lu, Anna Leader explained that "the play dramatises how the injustices of the past put pressure on young people today: how can the two girls acknowledge the brutal history that previous generations have buried, and somehow move past it?" She added: "It's easy to feel despair about the future, and it's true that today's teenagers will have to forge a difficult path, but Stolen Ground tries to show both the risks and the rewards of pursuing the truth."

There is a very informative and interesting introduction to the play by Janine Goedert 30 minutes before each performance.

Additional performances of Stolen Ground, which has a running time of one and a half hours with no intermission, are taking place at the Théâtre des Capucins on Friday 11, Saturday 12, Sunday 13, Tuesday 15, Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 October 2024. All performances are at 20:00 with the exception of the Sunday performance which is at 17:00. There will be an audio description on 13 October and interested parties are requested to register in advance.

Further information and tickets are available at https://theatres.lu/fr/stolenground.