The 76th edition of the Avignon Festival has just concluded. 1Verse September, Olivier B, who has been director for nine years, will hand the keys to his successor, Portuguese director Thiago Rodriguez. Which delighted him with a farewell speech full of emphasis, adorned with weeping, apparently (I didn’t hear it, I left Avignon before this transfer of power but I read it).
To tell the truth, Olivier Bey’s passing does not tear me apart. I was starting to despair of the festival. Du of course. What do I blame him for? It’s not just the title anymore happy couple Shows are no longer scheduled for the general public. Olivier Bey joined only the elitism of his predecessors, Hortense Arcambault and Vincent Baudrillard. Before them, Bernard Vivre-Darsier and Alan Krumbek retained a kind of eclecticism and, along with more advanced experiments, gave open-to-all performances, such as those of Bartabas, Ariane Mnuchkin or Philip Cooper. Now the interior gives way to the vanguard and leaves the rest outside. Two festivals and two audiences flirt with the shoulders without mixing. Do not mix tea towels with towels.
But after all, it will be said, no one blames the Aix-en-Provence festival for welcoming only wealthy music fans. Well, but the Avignon Festival was created with a specific goal: to make theater popular. We have the right to refuse the inheritance, but then let’s be honest. what can i say
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