Speaking Out and Fitting In

“Don’t let the world put you in a box, but do reserve the right to make an exhibition of yourself!” Alice d’Lumiere

Striking performance poetry, disarming comedy and a celebration of gender fluidity from a part-time transwoman playfully establishing her voice.

Alice d’Lumiere generally prefers to go unnoticed; she yearns to be an ordinary person on the train, or in the supermarket. She’s happy to be anonymous; a sensible, middle-aged woman… however, she’s also a writer, an actor and a performance artist and therefore cursed with an occasional, but irresistible desire to speak up, stand out and be utterly unmissable!

Alice is also gender fluid and, for her, existing as a part-time transwoman makes everyday life a complex, but intriguing adventure…

“Speaking Out and Fitting In” is a solo show in striking performance poetry and disarming comedy, with flashes of cabaret and aerial burlesque, in which Alice playfully explores the wonderful, if occasionally counter-intuitive, position of the gender-fluid individual striving to both fit in to another gender whilst yearning to establish a unique, personal voice for themselves.

The show began when Alice was asked to loan one of her performance dresses to a museum – a privilege she thought was reserved for the deceased and royalty. She then ended the year performing in public as a live Christmas Fairy. This is a celebratory piece about how delightfully queer life can be when you decide to step beyond your birth gender.

WARNING: THIS SHOW MAY CONTAIN STOCKINGED LEGS AND TROCHAIC FEET!

Speaking Out and Fitting In! was co-commissioned by Colchester Arts Centre and Norwich Arts Centre. The work has been supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and Alice has also been assisted by the Mercury Creatives programme.