Open rehearsal of “Trabajos Forzados” by Ça Marche

“Trabajos forzados” by the resident company Ça Marche questions the dynamics of language and its relationship with the body, starting from the idea of ​​silence, both chosen and imposed. The piece reflects on how Western civilization has prioritized orality, imposing it as the dominant form of communication, and proposes an exploration of the experience of those who are forced to relate differently to speech. Oliver Sacks says that “users of a language tend to a naive realism, because they tend to see their language as a reflection of reality and not as a construction”. We often call those who use the voice speakers, as if the possibility of speech were only one and sign language was not because it was a deaf language. “Trabajos forzados” offers the viewer a journey towards the lack of understanding that these people forced to relate to speech in a different way may feel, a journey that moves away from what is paternalistic, pedagogical and pornographic. The idea is that the viewer’s gaze exercises another world of meaning, through silence for example, or absence, another feeling that is a passage to another being, more corporeal than intellectual. And for this reason, more than ever, it is important to work with non-actors, people who emphasize the concrete body, far from theatrical convention and the physical tradition that prioritizes standardized voice and movement.
Ça Marche’s works, and this one is no exception, are also accompanied by a work ethic that does not fall below artistic requirements, and goes beyond mere theatrical exhibition. Throughout the process, the company has been related to multiple associative networks, institutions and companies that have developed reflections and work around accessibility, with the aim of being able to develop, within the framework of “Trabajos forzados”, spaces, projects or contexts with the Deaf community that can broaden the experience and its future footprint as much as possible.

Artistic details
Direction and authorship – Nico Jongen in collaboration with Berta Frigola
Drama – Roberto Fratini
Performers – To be defined
Space and lighting – Marc Salicrú
Production management – ​​Laura Viñals
Costume design – Mariona Signes
Sound – Adrià Juan
Catalan sign language interpreter (LSC) – Javi Díez
External view – Víctor Molina
A co-production of – Conde Duque Madrid, Azkuna Zentroa and Ça marche
With the support of – Teatro Municipal do Porto, Théâtre de Liège, la Comédie de Reims, FuturLab Europe – European research project

A project by the resident company Ça Marche

This is an open rehearsal of a stage project still in the process of creation.