29 April 2025
Marco Gandolfi
The cast has been revealed for Who is Claude Cahun?, a powerful new play exploring the true story of the groundbreaking queer artist who resisted Nazi occupation through subversive art. The production runs at Southwark Playhouse Borough’s The Little from 18 June to 12 July 2025, with a press night on 20 June.
Written by D.R. Hill and directed by David Furlong, Who is Claude Cahun? recounts the extraordinary life of Claude Cahun—a Jewish lesbian surrealist who, along with partner Marcel Moore, waged a guerrilla art resistance against the Nazis on the island of Jersey during WWII. As fascism swept Europe, Cahun and Moore used creativity as defiance, risking everything in the name of freedom and identity.
Lilit Lesser (Wolf Hall, BBC; We Were the Lucky Ones, Hulu) stars in the title role of Cahun, with Amelia Armande (Grace, ITV) playing Moore. They are joined by Ben Bela Böhm, Sharon Drain, and Gethin Alderman, who take on multiple roles throughout the production.
Presented by DRH Arts in association with Exchange Theatre, this new staging combines immersive projection mapping, surreal masks, and striking physical theatre to evoke Cahun’s surrealist vision and underground resistance. The production aims to honour a largely overlooked chapter of LGBTQ+ and wartime history—shining a light on courage, creativity, and radical self-expression.
Playwright Hill said, “Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore were fearless in their defiance of both fascism and rigid gender norms. Their story of guerrilla art activism remains hugely relevant today. It’s time their bravery is celebrated onstage.”
Who is Claude Cahun? runs 1 hour 45 minutes (excluding interval) and includes a captioned performance on 2 July. Tickets start from £16 and are available via
www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk.
This Pride Month, experience a vital story of resistance, identity, and forgotten queer history brought vividly to life.
