Avignon Festival
Find out more about the Festival program:
Discover the Avignon Festival in Vaucluse
The Festival d’Avignon was founded in 1947 by Jean Vilar. It was on the occasion of an exhibition of contemporary painting and sculpture, organized in the great chapel of the Palais des papes by Christian Zervos, critic and collector, and the poet René Char, that Jean Vilar was invited to present his first great public success: T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. Accustomed to smaller stages, Vilar initially refused, as the Cour d’Honneur at the Palais seemed too vast and “too shapeless”, and he no longer held the rights to the play.
However, he made another proposal: to present three new plays: Richard II, a Shakespeare almost unknown in France at the time; Paul Claudel’s Tobie et Sara; and La Terrasse de midi, Maurice Clavel’s second work. From the very first Festival, in September 1947, the program featured both little-known works from the universal repertoire and contemporary texts.
The Festival has gone through four major phases in its evolution, and over the years has become a must for artists. Shows, theater, artists, conviviality and sharing!
The artistic project
Founded in 1947 by Jean Vilar, the Festival d’Avignon is today one of the most important international events for contemporary performing arts. Every July, Avignon becomes a theater-city, transforming its architectural heritage into a variety of majestic and astonishing venues, welcoming tens of thousands of theater lovers of all generations (over 130,000 admissions). A not-to-be-missed event in the Vaucluse region, it is known the world over. Often on vacation from afar, many spectators spend several days in Avignon or the surrounding area. They see just a few of the 40 or so theater, dance, visual arts and music performances. For a whole month, everyone has access to a lively contemporary culture.
The program includes some thirty shows, as well as readings, exhibitions, films and debates, all of which offer an insight into the world of the guest artists. Every evening at the Festival, there are one or more “premieres”, making Avignon a true place of creation and adventure, for artists and spectators alike.
Hotel Spa Vaucluse
How about adding relaxation, festivals and art to your program? Stay at the Spa Ventoux Provence hotel in Malaucène, Vaucluse. Just 35 minutes by car from Avignon, at the foot of Mont Ventoux, in a quiet, charming setting. Balneotherapy is just 800 meters from the hotel.
And why not take advantage of the SPA?
When you stay with us, you benefit from a preferential rate to use the Spa.
Spend a day enjoying the heated swimming pool with massage jets and whirlpool baths, sauna, hammam, salt cave, cardio room, outdoor jacuzzi Scottish bath and solarium garden.
