Avignon Festival History - Annotation
This post discusses a scholarly article:
Wehle, Phillipa. “A History of the Avignon Festival.” The Drama Review: TDR, vol. 28, no. 1, 1984, pp. 52-61. www.jstor.org/stable/1145561.
A History of the Avignon Festival discusses the Festival d’Avignon from its creation in 1947 and its several developments and transformations up until the time of the article’s publication in 1984. Wehle begins the article discussing the effects of World War II and the motivation to create a festival in Avignon to counteract the artistic monopoly that Paris held post-war. Documenting the path of Jean Vilar, who was invited to direct in a “Dramatic Arts Week” in Avignon and later developed this into an entire festival in July. With a desire to attract a high calibre of performers and a relaxed, community based audience, the Festival d’Avignon developed with affordable tickets, a large youth-based spectatorship and a desire to showcase new theatrical styles and movements. Wehle continues to chart the festival’s path, particularly the significant changes that came in 1966 with the 20th anniversary including additional playing spaces and branching out of performance styles. Also discussed are the rallies of 1968 when there was a “general challenge of cultural institutions” (57), and Vilar’s successors, Paul Puaux and then Bernard Faivre d’Arcier. With these changes in administration came new developments in festival structure and programming, and Wehle ends with a discussion of Faivre d’Arcier’s desire to implement new technologies to accommodate changing perceptions and expectations in “our wired society” (61).
Wehle focuses on the creation and then development of the festival, highlighting its founding vision of creating a cultural, innovative meeting place for artists to showcase their work. Although for the majority of the article Wehle covers the successes of the festival’s progression, also included are the concerns that the festival had lost sight of its original purpose. With rapid expansion, and many branching off celebrations, “others felt that the Festival had become an extravaganza of cultural confusion” (58).
By covering the entire history of the theatre (up until 1984) with a focus on the original and shifting goals of its creators and directors, A History of the Avignon Festival provides readers with a comprehensive summary of the festival’s path, the trials and pushback, as well as its greatest successes. This document highlights the relevance and motivations of the festival which can provide modern audiences with context and foundation for the shows and experiences that are still enjoyed to this day.
