The Festival d'Avignon turns 60

The Festival d'Avignon "has withstood all the shocks, all the journalistic death sentences," writes Alexandre Demidoff as the 60th edition of the festival gets underway. In an interview, the festival's former director, Bernard Faivre d'Arcier, talks about the original ambition of founder Jean Vilar, back in 1947. "Inspired by leftist ideas, he wanted to break with bourgeois Parisian practices. He does away with the red curtain, favouring a more provocative kind of theatre. His real ambition was to attract a young and provincial theatre-going public. The historical context was difficult. France was still under rationing and people did not venture too far from home. At the same time, the nation was attempting to heal its wounds." Today, as then, "Avignon serves as a forum for debating the political and aesthetic issues of the hour. Because it attracts a large and diverse public, the festival is a sounding box for what is happening in society."

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