Every July, for three weeks, the southern French city of Avignon plays host to theatre and performing arts shows from around the globe. There is a special kind of excitement in the air for the spectators, performers and directors who are discovering the festival for the very first time.
The event attracts thousands of people from France and around the world, from experienced spectators seeking the big names of the stage and the adrenaline of live shows, to those who are curious about one of the many parallel events in the “off “ category.
The Avignon Off Festival is one of the biggest performing arts festival in the world. RFI English's Ollia Horton was there. pic.twitter.com/OfCfYf4MIZ
— RFI English (@RFI_En) July 7, 2023
Everyone says there’s something particularly special about coming to the Avignon festival for the first time, and in fact the organisers have come up with a little orientation booklet, designed to help (younger) audiences prepare for a cultural and educational discovery.
It’s not only spectators who experience the “first time” syndrome. Many professionals are confronted with debuts, albeit of a different kind.
Take Julie Deliquet for example. The 43-year-old director is part of the festival for the first time in her career, despite being the darling of French theatre world. Previously, she attended as a spectator.
She felt particularly honoured to be invited to stage her social drama "Welfare" on the opening night of the festival on 5 July, inside the central courtyard the Papal Palace, in the heart of the city.
Power to the people
She is only the second woman director, after Ariane Mnouchkine, to put on a play at this prestigious site in the festival’s 77-year history.
“Welfare” takes a magnifying glass to society with a very realist performance. It’s a world away from the cicada-filled summer night and demands the public sit up and pay attention. It’s not exactly a relaxing couple of hours. The audience is made to feel uncomfortable. But there are unexpected moments of humour and lightness.
The actors represent those on the fringes; the poor, the down and out, the homeless. They have been waiting in line for hours to see a social worker. They are all overwhelmed, frustrated, lost.
Speaking to the public at a conference on Thursday, Deliquet described the challenges of writing the piece with the papal courtyard in mind. Open to the sky, surrounded by tall stone walls, the stage is an integral “character” in the play.
“I want to bring ordinary people’s words back into the heart of the city,” Deliquet says. Physically the actors are dwarfed by the imposing opulence of the amphitheatre and this adds to the dramatic effect.
The script is adapted from a 1973 documentary directed by the American Frederick Wiseman. Although the original takes place 50 years ago in New York, she argues that the portrait of human nature and social crises ring true regardless of the time and place, especially today.
People are still poor, disenfranchised and struggling to deal with mountains of paperwork created by the administrative ‘welfare’ machine. They feel like no-one is really listening, especially the state.
In a nod to recent violent events in France, prior to the opening of the show, Deliquet came to the stage to call for a minute’s silence in memory of Nahel, the 17 year-old killed by police last month for failing to stop at a traffic checkpoint.
“I want theatre to make people angry,” Deliquet told Telerama magazine prior to the opening of her play which is on until the 14th July.
"Welfare" harnesses this anger and leaves the audience with food for thought, and no-one will walk away unscathed.
Relinquish control
Also enjoying the sensation of participating in the festival for the first time is British actor, writer and director Tim Crouch. It’s in fact his very first time performing in France, although his plays have been performed around Europe for years. He’s brought two pieces to Avignon: “An Oak Tree” and “Truth’s a Dog must to Kennel”.
With “An Oak Tree”, Tim is keen to put the audience back at the centre of the action. To do this, he performs his role opposite an actor who has never seen the play before. Each night is like a premiere, featuring a new partner, from a different nationality.
He told RFI that in writing for theatre, he needs to “relinquish control” and leave some things open to possibility and uncertainty. Ask more questions.
“I want to remove the focus away from learning lines, from over rehearsing,” he told RFI. “It’s not that I’m lazy, but I want to invite the audience to cement the piece. The audience has the power to change the world, and indeed, change the experience of the play”.
Set inside the courtyard of the majestic Cloitre des Célestins, until 11 July, it is just one of a dozen plays at the festival performed in English, this year's language of honour.
Walking on the moon
Meanwhile, French director Philippe Quesne had his premiere for his play at the Carrière de Boulbon – a quarry in a village, 15kms outside of Avignon.
It’s the first time since 2016 that the quarry has been used as a makeshift outdoor stage. It fits into the new artistic director Tiago Rodrigues' desire to bring natural settings back into the theatrical equation of the festival.
His “Jardin des Délices” (Garden of Earthly Delights) is inspired in part by the 16th century triptych painting by Jérôme Bosch, full of fantasy and dreamlike landscapes
“Boulbon is like being on the moon,” he told a press conference on Thursday. “The site is full of ghosts, a reminder of all the artists who have walked there before. I feel like I'm honouring them".
He described the dress rehearsal in the presence of the local villagers – around 200 out of 300 inhabitants came to see the show. One lady told him she hadn’t understood anything about the play but she was keen to learn more about Bosch, who she knew nothing about.
That’s the thing with the Avignon festival, it’s difficult to walk away without having at least learnt one new thing at every show.
