Old New Festival

The Avignon Festival in Avignon, France has been around since 1947. Primarily focused on theater productions, the festival also presents concerts, lectures, dance and multidisciplinary works. What's unusual about the Avignon Festival, other than the extremely high caliber of the productions and the attendance of over 100,000 people, is the variety of historically significant locations where the performances take place. Avignon becomes a summer “city-theatre,” with audiences enjoying outdoor productions in sites like the Cour d'Honneur of the Pope's Palace, whose construction dates to the 1340s. The Festival lists over 20 venues around Avignon, each with its own interesting history and atmosphere. Of course the live productions are accomplished with the latest, technically advanced lighting, sound systems and other stagecraft. The performances include everything from classics to brand new pieces. Opportunities to experience the performing arts in the context of carefully preserved historic sites with high tech infrastructure are made possible partly because of France's dedication to preserving, appreciating and using its cultural heritage, or “patrimoine.” A sizable chunk of the French government arts support budget -- at the federal, regional and local levels -- is directed at preserving ancient sites and making them accessible to the public. Putting on plays and concerts in old (very old) outdoor amphitheaters and courtyards is a way of both preserving the past and presenting contemporary works in a dramatic environment. It's also a way of presenting art as a part of the cultural continuum: our predecessors performed in this space many centuries ago, and we still perform our works here today. The past is alive in the present, and vice-versa.