The Globe theatre sparked outrage when it announced its plans to stage a non-binary Joan of Arc. The play’s writer Charlie Josephine explains why the French warrior would have approved
’m always hungry for historical queer representation,” says Charlie Josephine, the non-binary playwright of I, Joan, a sweaty, heady, joyously queer new drama about the patron saint of. “Because our history has been erased – particularly transgender people’s – there is very limited documentation of us throughout history, even though we have existed since the beginning of time.”
The announcement of the character being non-binary attracted immediate outrage online, with attacks on cast, crew and the very idea that the identity of a historical figure could be re-examined in art. “It was all pretty predictable,” says Josephine. “Personally, I am very familiar with that kind of abuse. None of it was surprising. But we haven’t given it too much attention, because we’ve got a job to do.” When we speak, the show is starting to come together.
In the play, the vehicle for this expression is dance, the use of movement stemming from the failure of language. Reconsidering gender through a historical lens, says Josephine, always throws up questions of finding the right words. “The language we have now, Joan didn’t have then. There’s a violence in that, I think. To not have the words to explain yourself is a really terrifying thing.”
The size of the theatre has also allowed them to be courageous in their writing. “I wanted to dare myself to write epic speeches and be aware of the sky in that space,” Josephine says, smiling. “We’ve got the budget for horses but that really would have upstaged my writing.”
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