La cabine

The performance, featuring a male actor, interrogated the diminished value often placed on women’s speech in comparison to men’s. It critically examined the power dynamics of voice and gender, highlighting how women’s voices are frequently undermined in public discourse.

The male performer appropriated a woman’s speech as she recounted her experience of sexual harassment. He meticulously mimicked every feature of her speech—hesitations, "useless" noises, breaths, pauses, stammering, stuttering. The hesitancy in the woman’s speech starkly contrasts with the focused attention the male performer is receiving while appropriating her story. The performer single-out a man in the audience, locking eyes with him and maintaining an unwavering gaze - as though no one else existed. Provoking unsettling questions: Is this man complicit? Complicit in the performance, or in gendered violence itself?

performer: Alexandre Lebigot

(Elle parle globalement vite)

Un truc qui n’est pas dans la rue euuuhhhm c’était heu dans un magasin. J’étais

avec une amie. Et enfaite heuuu ça c’était en, au pays bas. Et dans les trucs un

peu de frip de touristes et tout fin bref.

Et on c’est mise à deux dans une cabine pour essayer des jeans et enfaite heu on

se déshabille et tout ça on essaye des jeans et heuuuu la je vois un truc par terre

et tout je comprends pas c’que c’est j’ai l’impression que c’est un chien ! Moi je

me dis « mais y’a un chien » et tout. Fin trop chelou !

Et enfaite genre heu je réalise genre ça m’a prit p’tetre 5 secondes à réaliser que

enfaite c’tait pas un chien ! C’était la tête d’un mec qui avait les cheveux bouclés

et enfaite il passait sa tête derrière finnnnnn dans notre cabine. Qui était dans la

cabine d’a coté et qui était heuuu a croupis et tout et qui passait sa tête.

Et enfaite mais ça m’a traumatisée de ouf. Et enfaite heu j’ai eu un réflex, au final je

l’ai pas fait, mais genre j’ai failli lui shooter dans sa tête enfaite. Et au final je j’ai

heu j’ai heu eu une retenue comme ça.

Mais heuuuu je suis sortie de la cabine fin lui est d’abord sortit en vitesse quand il

a vu fin enfaite nos yeux se sont vraiment croisés mais lui heu au sol quoi ! Enfin,

top chelou.

Et heu du coup lui il est vite vite sortit. Et heuuuuuu enfaite heu bah la bas ils

parlent néerlandais, ou anglais et moi heu chuis fin chuis voila ! Donc j’ai parle

français et tout. Donc les gens ils ont peut être pas comprit exactement ce qu’il

avait fait. Mais en tout cas tout le monde l’a regardé.

Mais il c’est hyper vite cassé quoi heu genre le mec heuuu t’sais en mode heuuu

en deux secondes il était volatilisé. Mais heu ouais et nous on c’est retrouvée

comme ça, traumatisées dans la cabine avec ma pote heu genre en plus on était

vraiment en culotte et tout. fin… horrible……

Voila, et euh suite a ça j’ai eu un rire nerveux, de genre heu 30 minutes quoi !

(She generally speaks quickly)

Something that didn’t happen in the street, ummm, it was uh in a store. I was with a friend. And actually, uhhh, it was in, in the Netherlands. And you know, in those kind of vintage tourist shops and all, well whatever.

And we went into the same fitting room to try on jeans and actually umm we undressed and all that, trying on jeans and uhhhh then I see something on the ground and I don’t understand what it is, I thought it was a dog! I was like, “but there’s a dog” and all. So weird!

And actually, like umm I realized, like it took me maybe five seconds to realize that it wasn’t a dog! It was the head of a guy who had curly hair, and he was sticking his head under, like, into our fitting room. He was in the fitting room next to us, crouching, and sticking his head through.

And honestly, it really traumatized me. And actually, umm, I had this reflex, in the end I didn’t do it, but like I almost kicked him in the head. But in the end, I uh, I held back.

But ummm I came out of the fitting room, well he left in a rush when he saw, well actually our eyes really met, but he was still on the floor! Like, super weird.

And ummm so he quickly, quickly left. And ummm well there, they speak Dutch or English, and me, umm I’m like, well, you know! So I spoke French and all. So maybe people didn’t fully understand what he had done. But anyway, everyone was looking at him.

But he ran off super quickly, like, the guy, ummm you know, like in two seconds, he was gone. But ummm yeah, and we found ourselves, like that, traumatized in the fitting room with my friend, ummm like we were literally in our underwear and all. Just… horrible…

So yeah, and uh after that, I had this nervous laughter for like 30 minutes!