Once upon a time… an accessible festival
In these troubled times, the theater is more vital than ever to tell the world, to open paths of hope. Many shows at the 76th Festival d’Avignon are “naturally” accessible to the visually or hearing impaired.
“ Once upon a time… was chosen as the red thread -along with other themes such as the place of women, resilience- of the 76e Avignon Festival, from July 7 to 26, 2022. With 46 shows, 30 conferences, 70 debates, 32 screenings… According to its director, Olivier Py: “ Theater is what teaches us to live, to survive, to live again as we go through real apocalypses “. So the Festival teams take special care to ensure accessibility for all audiences.
Texts, concerts, conferences: to listen to
In the rich program with numerous creations from China to the Middle East, passing through Russia and Africa… about fifteen are naturally accessible to blind or visually impaired people.
Iphigenia by Tiago Rodrigues, directed by Anne Théron, will also be presented with audio description by Accès Culture, on July 13 at 2:30 p.m., preceded by a tactile tour of the sets. Room sheets are available in Braille and large print.
There’s something for everyone with a Shakespeare Richard II directed by Christophe Rauck with actor Micha Lescot, Where I thought I was there is no one in the footsteps of Marguerite Duras, The nest of ashes a 1 p.m. river show, Anaïs Nin in the mirroror Olivier Py’s latest creation My exalted youtha tragi-comic fresco at 10 a.m., as well as the cabaret Miss Knife and her sisters with in particular the Ukrainian group Dakh filles.
Among the shows to see with the family, three tales are revisited: Little Red Riding Hood by Das Plateau (from 4 years old), Gretel, Hansel and the others by Igor Mendjisky, and The soldier and the ballerina by Robert Sandoz (both from 7 years old).
To discover In this garden that we loved, based on the text by Pascal Quignard, Marie Vialle takes the viewer into the sound world of American composer Simon Pease Cheney; in mourning for his wife, he noted the sounds of the world, birdsong, rain…” which for him was music “. musical theater with without druman exploration of Lieder by Robert Schumann, or the traveling show by Pierre-Yves Chapalain, At the edge of the wood” an oratorio where the music leaves space for the narration with Madeleine Louarn, whose shows with disabled actors from the Catalyse workshop have been presented on several occasions.
A new tactile model of the Cour d’honneur will be prepared this summer and can be explored at your fingertips in the Grand Audience room of the Palais des Papes. It is also always possible to discover the tactile model of the permanent place of the festival, the FabricA. By appointment for both. Without forgetting the fascinating readings, conferences and encounters. In addition to the website, a light program in Braille and large print is available at the Cloître Saint-Louis and at the Festival shop.
Dances, visual or surtitled shows: to watch
People who are deaf and hard of hearing could also discover visual or wordless performances. Dance with Lady Magma by Oona Doherty, a quest for the feminine; Via Injabuloa South African company; The sacrifice by Dada Masilo, South African choreographer; Near futureby Jan Martens, a questioning of our ability to change; Silent Legacy by Maud Le Pladec and JR Maddripp on filiations and When my mother used to tell by Ali Chahrour, a reflection on Lebanon today.
To see, also, creations at the crossroads of the arts, in the “indiscipline” category: A song, history(s) of theater IV by Miet Warlop, Milk on women’s resilience by Palestinian artist Bashar Murkus, Flesh where Sophie Linsmaux and Aurelio Mergola question the simple gestures of everyday life. Around painting, the painters Monet, Pollock and Viallat inspired the dance of Emmanuel Eggermont in Everywhere the water lilies we Animameeting between visual artist Noémie Goudal and Maëlle Poésy, an invitation to experience the physical and plastic sensation of time. »
Shows in a foreign language have French surtitles: The black monk after Chekhov by the dissident Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov who opens the festival in the Cour d’honneur of the Palais des Papes; Storm of Shakespeare directed by Alessandro Serra and performed in Italian; Lonely by Norén directed by Sofia Adrian Jupither in Swedish; The seventh dayan exploration of Chinese society, according to Yu Hua in Chinese but also In transit we An inner picture.
To find out more about the shows, the video of the press conference (1h30) translated into French sign language and subtitled is available on the website (link below). In terms of technical aids, two rooms are equipped with magnetic loops: the Benoit-XII theater and the Tinel de la Chartreuse. Individual hearing loops can be borrowed from La Fabrica and the Cour d’honneur of the Palais des Papes, to be reserved with the Accessibility department.
Broadcast shows
If you can’t come, some shows are broadcast: Iphigenia which will air July 15 on France 5 and July 24 on Culture box then available in replay. The Black Monk will be broadcast live on July 9 on art then available on arte.tv as well as readings and radio broadcasts.
With Olivier Py, who passes the baton of the direction of the festival to the Portuguese playwright and director Tiago Rodrigues, expresses the wish ” that the festival of Avignon is always the place of youth, of the word and of what comes. »
Accessibility in practice
The Festival d’Avignon takes place from July 7 to 26, 2022. Reservations on the festival-avignon.com website and on 04 90 14 14 14. A personalized welcome is reserved for people with disabilities with an email (accessibilite@festival- avignon.com ) and a dedicated page (link below) whose display can be adapted with FACIL’iti according to the disability. People who are deaf, hard of hearing or aphasic can use the Acceo service.
Places are reserved for people with reduced mobility. Access is indicated for each room and mentioned if difficult. Several places are not wheelchair accessible: the Benoit-XII theatre, the gymnasium of the Saint-Joseph high school, the Garden of the Virgin, the Chapel of the white penitents and the courtyard of the Calvet museum. Don’t forget to indicate your presence when booking.
Photo: the Cour d’honneur of the Palais des Papes in Avignon © Christophe Raynaud de Lage / Festival d’Avignon