FORCED
LABOUR, 2025

Forced Labour is a performance in sign language and spoken Spanish that questions the dynamics of language and its relationship with the body, starting from the idea of silence—both chosen and imposed. On stage, Pepita, a Deaf performer, tells stories and answers questions in Catalan Sign Language (LSC), creating a dialogue between different ways of perceiving and expressing the world. She is accompanied by the director of the performance and an LSC interpreter, who not only translates but also becomes an active part of the piece, challenging the very act of interpreting.

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Inspired by the legacy of oral storytelling and the need of communities to tell stories in order to build their collective identity, Forced Labour proposes a sensorial journey where sign language is not reduced to a translation but is a fundamental part of the scenic writing. Through gesture, vibration, and silence, the performance invites both Deaf and hearing audiences to share an experience that challenges the limits of what we understand as accessibility and language.

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As Oliver Sacks said: “Users of a language tend to a naïve realism, because they usually see their language as a reflection of reality and not as a construction.” Too often, only those who use their voice are considered “speakers,” as if the ability to speak were unique and sign language were not also a full language. Forced Labour invites the audience to suspend what they take for granted—language, immediate understanding—and immerse themselves in an experience where communication is both bodily and linguistic.