Report from the city of the Popes while the school holidays have not officially started and in a particularly tense political climate between the two rounds of the legislative elections.
The curtain of the In rose on Saturday. With a first controversy: Angélica Liddell attacked the critics head on, calling them “assholes”. Atmosphere. In the Off, a few theaters opened their doors even if Wednesday officially marks the start of the parallel programming to that concocted by Tiago Rodrigues and his teams. Apprehension, waiting and uncertain political climate do not make the organization and setting up of the shows any easier.
“We have already tested the play in Paris with sixty dates, but Avignon will be a different stage, a different theatre and the material is the first source of anxiety,” explains Mélanie Le Duc, who plays with two companies including L’éternel été, which stages A straw hat from Italy. A stress shared by Camille Deheppe, the creator of La Compagnie Marbrée who is making her Avignon debut this year at the Bayaf hall with the play Eleanoron the extraordinary destiny of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of France and then of England in the 12th centurye century. “I’m in Tahiti so the logistics are complicated. The actors help me a lot, especially in getting the last costumes and accessories for the set,” she explained last week, in the middle of “this final straight where we must not forget anything”.
Take the train – the cheapest preferably – to Avignon, without forgetting an essential element for the three weeks in the City of Popes. “Everything is square but we have to prepare for the worst. If the public doesn’t show up because the holidays won’t have started, it will be a waste of money. But in reality, no artist plays in Avignon with the ambition of making a show profitable.”says Camille Deheppe.
Everyone has their own budget, but arriving in Avignon is always stressful. “We set up an online kitty and we have some help from Fonpeps (National Fund for Employment in the Entertainment Industry). We have a big budget of fifty thousand for rent, salaries, the venue and communication. We just hope not to be too much in the red,” explains Sébastien El Fassi from the Coup de Lune company in Nice. Avignon in July also means a lot of resourcefulness. “For accommodation, I started early and was able to find an apartment with an Avignon resident who was a fan of the Festival and who offered to pay in installments.”rejoices Camille Deheppe.
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A sleepless night to protest against the extreme right
The first weekend is described as quite “surprising” by the companies we met. Benoît Gruel, director ofAnd Italian straw hatrelativize: “I really expected there to be no one, but we managed to do two days with about fifty places.” Her colleague Mélanie Le Duc qualifies: “I don’t feel like the festival has started. For me, we’re still on the run-through.” “We can’t wait for the public to arrive and for the days to be the same,” Guillaume Collignon recognizes that he plays alongside Mélanie Le Duc. In Avignon, the daily ritual for him is simple: it’s leafleting before going on stage.
In the city of the Popes, the sun shines and lemon syrups, created in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, are invited to the terraces. The lively streets on Saturday are deserted two days later. “We tow each other between actors, it’s fun and it allows us to meet other artists”plays down Mélanie Jourdan who is involved in the play The best is yet to come. But this image of empty streets for the month of July has an explanation: it is the consequence of the staggered school holidays. Officially, they begin this Friday.
This week is particularly disrupted by the two rounds of the legislative elections, the results of which are worrying those involved in the cultural world. “On Sunday, in the middle of rehearsal, we were waiting for the results and I forgot my text, which never happens. And when the numbers came in, we cried.”says a dejected Mélanie Le Duc.
Faced with the National Rally’s score in the first round of the legislative elections, Tiago Rodrigues, director of the Avignon Festival, is calling for a sleepless night of mobilization against the far right. On Thursday evening, at the Palais des Papes, Lola Arias, Camille Étienne, Alexis Michalik and Joey Starr will be gathered from midnight thirty until dawn, in collaboration with the City of Avignon, Avignon Festival & Compagnies, the CGT-Spectacle, the Syndeac, the artists of the Avignon Festival and many civil society actors. Faced with the results of the elections, no one wanted to play on the biggest stage in the world anymore.
