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The Avignon Festival 2006 - A Personal Encounter (Part I)A Rumble Amongst Critics and the Historical Perspective (4)Jacqueline Fletcher visits the 60th Avignon FestivalDateline: 19th July, 2006The history of post-war French theatre has been a history of director's theatre and Avignon has been host to those who have had a profound impact on European theatre in general and French theatrical culture in particular. (1) The visit of the Living Theatre in 1968 with Paradise Now followed swiftly on the insurgency of May 1968 which precipitated more soul-searching from French theatremakers. This was perhaps one of the first of a series of new challenges which heralded the 'second age of the festival'. (2) With Maurice Béjart dance officially arrived. The Bread and Puppet Theatre, Robert Wilson's Deafman's Glance in the early '70s, Pina Bausch's Wuppertal Tanztheater with Kontakthof in 1981 and Nelken in 1983, now internationally renowned, were welcomed in Avignon. The masters of visual mise-en-scènes have thrilled audiences; iconoclastic writers such as Edward Bond, Olivier Py and Heiner Müller have found recognition in the Cour d'Honneur. Intercultural forms such as Mnouchkine's Richard II and Brook's Conference of Birds and The Mahabharata have been applauded in Avignon. The fact is it's difficult to imagine a history of the evolution of post-war European theatre without the Avignon Festival. And here I am. Finally, after all these years I've made it to the Avignon Festival and I'm a bit disappointed. There are altogether about 25 shows on 'le In' (the official festival). So far I've seen Anatoly Vassiliev's Mozart et Salieri (pretentious and old-fashioned) at the Carrière de Boulbon, Koltes Black Battles with Dogs (in an English translation by an American company with a French director - absolutely dire), Huysman's Humaine (Articulations) (interesting and well-performed), Mnemopark by Stefan Kaegi (brilliant), Jan Lauwers' Le Bazar du Homard (The Lobster Shop) (wonderful and ebullient) and La Poursuite du Vent (a marvellous performance but a traditional monologue), Josef Nadj's Asobu (I'm not bowled over but it's sticking with me), a piece of equestrian circus called Battuta (not worth getting bitten by mosquitoes for), and the four-hour film version of Mnouchkine's La Dernier Caravansérail (repetitive and traditional). I can honestly say that only the works by Kaegi and Lauwers have so far really excited me. I've got five shows to go. I decided not to see the text-based, socially critical works by Edward Bond and Joël Pommerat. I couldn't get tickets for a few shows, in particular the work of Japanese performance artist Hiroyuki Nakajima, Nadj's Paso Doble, and Kaegi's Cargo Sofia-Avignon (a trip around the town in a lorry driven by a Bulgarian). I'm still hoping to get returns for some shows. As yet, I haven't seen anything on 'le off' (the fringe). In many respects, I've enjoyed more the free events, the organised debates, meetings with directors and critics, the free films and so forth. So, what is wrong? Perhaps I'm getting jaded with old age? Perhaps my expectations were too high? There is still more than a week to go. Will I change my mind? In the next instalment: reviews, 'le In' and 'le Off', lots of sweat and mosquitoes, fireworks and more cultural debates. (1) For a further discussion of post-war French theatre see, David Bradby, Modern French Theatre: 1940-1990, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991and David Bradby and Annie Sparks, Mise-en-Scène: French Theatre Now, London: Methuen, 1997. >> Next page
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