Luxembourgish author, actress, and director Larisa Faber has been rehearsing her latest play, The Land We Shared, at the Capuchin Theatre since November last year. The production is partly autobiographical, exploring emotions, historical events, and family relationships as she experienced them herself.
For nearly three weeks, Faber, a Luxembourg Theatre Award winner, travelled to the Capuchin Theatre every morning to work on the production with her team. The play has gradually taken shape in the rehearsal room, evolving day by day into a deeply personal story.
Although the production had already been announced last year, the rehearsal phase was a crucial stage in its development ahead of its premiere on 7 May.
Larisa Faber grew up in Luxembourg but was born in Romania in 1986. In her play, she reflects on life under the communist regime as she experienced it as a child.
The story centres on a group of women, exile in Luxembourg, and the experience of building a new life between cultures and family memories.
The result is an intimate yet universal narrative, blending humour with strong emotional depth. While rooted in Faber's own life, the play is a fictionalised version of reality, as she has adapted certain details to create a stronger theatrical narrative.
From the outset, she worked closely with British collaborator Shamira Turner, who supported both the writing and stage adaptation of the piece.
Faber wrote the play in English. A polyglot who speaks five languages, she regularly switches between them while working with her international team, whose members come from the UK, Luxembourg, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania. She studied theatre studies in London, and The Land We Shared marks her seventh play.
Beyond theatre, Faber moves fluidly between roles and formats, working as an actress, short film director, and writer. She primarily writes in English, producing plays as well as essays and short stories. She has also contributed columns to the British newspaper The Guardian.
Faber will remain an artist in residence at Neimënster Abbey until 2027. The cultural centre supports her work by co-producing two theatre pieces over a three-year period and providing her with a dedicated creative space. It was there that she was first filmed by RTL working on the script for The Land We Shared more than two years ago.
In the play, actress Kristin Winters takes on the role of Faber at different stages of her life, as a child and later as a teenager between Romania and Luxembourg, allowing Faber to maintain some distance from her deeply personal story.
An open rehearsal was held in November, giving family, friends, and professionals an early preview and the opportunity to provide feedback. This allowed Faber to refine the production further.
In spring, rehearsals resumed at the Capuchin Theatre for a final five-week period leading up to the premiere. For the first time, lighting, set design, and costumes were brought together on stage, allowing the team to test whether ideas developed over the past two years would work in front of an audience.
The production places high demands on Faber and on the performers, with three actors on stage for around 90 minutes. Final adjustments are still being made, including sound and lighting.
The play will be performed at the Capuchin Theatre from 7 to 19 May.
