"Instagram is both a space where we can find freedom and a place where our neuroses play out."

How did you and Philippe meet?

The first time I saw Philippe Marien was in 2022, during one of his concerts with the Choolers Division, the hip-hop group in which he is a rapper. At that concert, I was really moved by his stage presence and his boundless energy. A few months later, I was lucky enough to be invited to La ‘S’ grand atelier, a centre for outsider and contemporary art in the Ardennes, where Philippe lives. It was in this context that I began to get to know this artist who, defying gravity and convention, is on stage extremely light, unruly and sensual.

Yet Philippe is the subject of stigmatising stares. It is quite astonishing to see how the staging of the self serves as an antidote to the hold that the gaze of others can have over him, and to what extent the imagination can become a tool for writing one’s own mythologies and not leaving to others the power to define one’s representation.

Why did you choose the icon Britney Spears for this piece?

Philippe and I are from the same generation, and as we got to know each other at La 'S' grand atelier, we discovered we shared a passion: Britney Spears. I chose the icon Britney Spears because it struck me how much Philippe shares experiences similar to those of the pop star: the phenomenon of starification as a rapper in a well-known group, and guardianship (he is under extended guardianship).

At the intersection of their stories lies stigma, and the power to short-circuit our perceptions, going against the suffocating norms imposed by performance-driven society.

What inspired you when writing the show?

In January 2008, Spears was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and, from that day on, her life changed dramatically. She was placed under her father’s guardianship; custody of her children, her driving licence and her right to vote were taken away from her, and an IUD was inserted against her will.

Although the conservatorship was initially announced as a temporary measure, it lasted 13 years, during which the pop star released four albums, performed 473 concerts and maintained an active profile on Instagram. It was on this platform that, from 2019 onwards, her posts and videos became increasingly strange... A large number of followers began to suspect that the star was a prisoner of an abusive conservatorship and that she was using Instagram to conceal messages calling for help. It was at this point that they began to spread the hashtag #freebritney.

The drama of the show stems from the unease I felt whilst observing the behaviour of internet users and the interactions they claimed to have had with Spears. This content allows us to question the possibility of identifying with others, our ability to put ourselves in their shoes and to feel empathy—fundamental faculties for building an egalitarian society.

By prompting reflection on the ‘Instagrammable’ society, BRITNEY BITCH confronts us with a contradiction: Instagram is both a space of potential emancipation and the site of our neuroses. With Philippe, we worked to find a common language and to explore the pop references that influence our respective imaginations. A key challenge was to question Philippe’s sense of being a star. This allows us to examine not only the power of the imagination but also, by extension, what this says about our conceptions of success, achievement, perfection and our relationship with norms. We created notebooks containing our exploratory materials (videos, images, songs, articles), our dialogues, our reflections... These notebooks serve as the basis for creating the show’s script.

Can you tell us about the #Freebritney movement?

The hashtag was launched unintentionally in 2019 by Jordan Miller, a fan of the singer who ran a website dedicated to her. The young man, then aged 20, outraged by an article suggesting that Britney Spears had been banned from using her phone, wrote a post denouncing the forced imprisonment his idol was allegedly subjected to by her father. The text ended with what would, a few weeks later, become a rallying cry: “Open your eyes, everyone! FREE BRITNEY! ” The slogan began circulating among the singer’s 27 million Instagram followers, before also appearing on TikTok, YouTube, Reddit and Twitter.

In late July 2020, dozens of “Free Britney” protesters gathered outside a courthouse in Los Angeles, holding up protest signs. They were young and came from different backgrounds. This took place just a stone’s throw from City Hall, where, a few weeks earlier, some of the largest Black Lives Matter protests had taken place. Yet this was a very different movement, small but rapidly growing, made up of people convinced that the singer was a prisoner of an unjust conservatorship and that it was their duty to save her.

What struck me most about the #FreeBritney movement was the fact that our desire to protect the pop star and the empathy we felt only emerged once she became a person with vulnerabilities rather than a star to be envied... Highlighting the paradox that journalist Molly Roberts pointed out in The Washington Post: “It was only when we learned that the pop star was trapped in conservatorship that we wanted to free her. All the while forgetting that it was our gaze that helped make her a prisoner of a tragic fate.”

What role does music play in your work?

Music plays a significant role in the project. This is because Philippe and I both have a very close relationship with music and sound design. With the help of our sound designer, Annalena Fröhlich, we will create and perform part of the show’s soundtrack live.

What does it mean to you to create at Studio Varia?

We are very happy to be creating at Studio Varia. For us, it means being able to create in a welcoming space that will allow us to build an intimate connection with the audience.