Political pundits, Real Housewives and that guy talking loudly next to you on the subway are united by their words in French performance maker Joris Lacoste’s latest foray into the outer limits of human expression.
Five virtuoso soloists take to the stage to perform all manner of recorded utterances, putting the emphasis on every hesitation, intonation, and “um.” Celebrating the vast range of human speech—from serious to downright silly—the choir of voices makes promises, threats, decisions, and declarations of love in more than 15 languages. is created from , a collection of recorded speech which uses everyday language to investigate our word-obsessed culture. Since 2007, this sprawling project has taken the form of performances, conferences, games, exhibitions, and a website (encyclopediedelaparole.org).
