What if Joan of Arc had been non-binary? This is the audacious premise of Me, Jeanne, mounted by Geneviève Labelle and Mélodie Noël Rousseau, who are thus making their entrance into Espace Go. A very important welcome for the feminist co-directors of the company Pleurer Dans’Douche. The creators ofBlast (Françoise-Graton prize 2024) and Scissors are also tackling a play they did not write for the first time. The inspiring and highly rhythmic text by Charlie Josephine, a British transmasculine non-binary artist with award-winning works, resonated strongly with the directors.
Me, Jeanne follows the quest of the 17-year-old girl, at the beginning of the 15th centurye century, to convince Charles VII to let her lead his army against the English troops occupying France. Faced with the misogyny of this male world, Joan also feels discomfort with a gender label that does not correspond to her. A conflict with her female body, which she compares to a civil war.
In this interpretation, “the war for Joan of Arc is to be yourself and to be fully non-binary,” summarizes Geneviève Labelle. She considers it a “great idea” to revisit current issues with a historical figure. “A lot of books talk about Joan of Arc’s potential trans identity.” She quotes Fluid gendersfrom Joan of Arc to the trans saints by Clovis Maillet (Arkhê, 2020). “Their story has always been stifled, hidden. It has always been shameful.”
But the play doesn’t assert anything, she adds. “We don’t want to upset people. That’s the danger: that they think we’re saying Joan of Arc was non-binary. It’s just: what if? … That’s kind of what art is for: using history to update it in the contemporary world.”
Quotes from the historical figure have come down to us:, but “transcribed by men,” notes Noël Rousseau. This story was reported from a male point of view. So it is the fun to see that, in this play, Joan of Arc tells her own story. And also it speaks a lot about quest, self-discovery. Finding one’s true nature. So, I think that everyone can be called by this story.”
She and her accomplice acknowledged their thinking, that non-binarity is not a threat to female identity. However, the play caused controversy even before its well-received premiere in London in 2022. “There is a certain first-wave feminism that has trouble with this non-binary identity, but also with trans identity in general,” she explains. “There is a kind of unease, a feeling of abandonment, a lack of understanding.” [chez certaines]. Because we had to fight for our rights, for so many things, to be women. There are bridges that are broken, that we work hard to recreate, because we tell ourselves that we have to talk to each other, understand each other, move forward. There are new battles, and we have to be together. The end of the show calls for mobilization. “But the creators want to make it “a celebration, a festive moment where we meet.” The Joan of the play advocates a general emancipation for the people.
In the story, however, the two female characters turn against her. “It’s patriarchy, deep down, that makes women mean to each other,” says Labelle. And it’s not [la faute] men. That’s also good in the play: it’s not misandrist! On the contrary, it’s: how can we all work together? “The designer actually believes that Me, Jeanne“a comedy, but with a very tragic side,” is a “very gentle” gateway to exploring gender identity. Perhaps even for viewers who are “a little bit turned off” to the subject. “We just want to deconstruct social norms. And try to see life through a different lens.” More fluid.
Queer Joy
“It’s quite a journey, the most intense thing I’ve ever done,” says Geneviève Labelle, who plays the title role. The actress, who has always felt “a bit against the grain,” draws on her inner self, on authenticity, to play her. “In everyday life, Geneviève experiences a quest for emancipation and discovery of her identity.” Her partner explains how cutting her hair for the character was an important moment: “She had big hair, very feminine. And everyone said, ‘You’re an actress, you can’t cut that beautiful hair.’ But when we dared to cut it and Gen saw herself in the mirror, she said, ‘Ah, that’s it!’”
Labelle will be surrounded by a “very beautiful” cast: Lé Aubin, Alexandre Bergeron, Maryline Chery, Nathalie Claude, Laura Côté-Bilodeau, Lyraël Dauphin, Gabriel Favreau, Anna Moulounda, Tova Roy, Gabriel Szabo, Phara Thibault. With its twelve performers and its battles, Me, Jeanne carries an epic breath. The show relies on a bold aesthetic, says Noël Rousseau: “We act as if the performers had been given this dramatic object and had to work with their costume designer to make a costume for themselves [sur-le-champ]. We put on makeup for children.” The creators, who have alter egos drag kinglike to use the art of dragThey had the idea that the male characters who were most violent towards Jeanne were women underneath: actresses “played these courtiers who mansplain Jeanne.” For Labelle, this choice allows us to go further: “It’s so grotesque. So, it can be even more wicked.”
Another interesting aspect for the actress: the fights take a dance form in the play. “When they go to war, it becomes raves. There is something of queer joy that emanates from these choreographies by Alexandre Morin. For me, it takes me back to the demonstrations of the early 1990s, when there was a lot of police repression against queer and trans people. And people revolted, went into the streets and danced as if to say: “You no longer have the choice to see us, we exist.”
God: The Public
It might seem paradoxical to hear Jeanne claim to be God, religion often being relatively unopen to gender identity. But, right from the prologue, the protagonist announces that “religiosity will be taken differently in the play,” says Geneviève Labelle. “God is more like a force, like being on your X, I would say. We all have that, at one point, in our lives: an instinct, a calling.” Add that, in the show, playing with theatrical conventions, it is the audience that embodies God. Jeanne maintains a direct link with him, sometimes breaking the fourth wall, as Pleurer Dans’Douche likes to do in her creations.
Charlie Josephine having given a lot of freedom with his text, the show will not disorient fans of the duo. “It’s so Pleurer Dans’Douche, this show-there,” continues the actress, who has the “bug” and now wants to direct other plays. “It’s really our humor, our aesthetic.”
Translated “skillfully” by Sarah Berthiaume, the show marries eras. “We have a lot of fun with the codes, there are several layers,” describes her sidekick. “We mix the medieval and the contemporary throughout. The performers wear medieval pointed shoes, but in a look very contemporary. And we like to make jokes. We do a virginity test on Joan of Arc, but we turn it into a joke… »
The designers also brought their way of creating to Go, which tends towards horizontality, questioning the hierarchy. “We allow everyone to participate in the creation: the costume department can talk about the sound,” says Noël Rousseau. “We see that it creates a special connection with the material. Everyone is committed wholeheartedly to this project. We are lucky to work with such a dedicated team.”
The duo feels it is important to stage the play in the current context. Especially since an anti-trans demonstration has been announced for September 20 in Canada. They plan to leave rehearsals to go to the counter-protest. “We don’t tend to put ourselves in these people’s shoes, but many tend to get angry,” laments Mélodie Noël Rousseau. I hope that our creations allow some people to emancipate themselves and [d’autres] to tame this reality.” Geneviève Labelle adds: “What we want is to shake the cage very gently, with a lot of love.”