First time

How do I get there? How to choose? How to prepare?

A first visit to the Festival d’Avignon is a memorable experience, accessible to everyone regardless of age. Special welcoming arrangements and mediation tools help guide this initiation, particularly for school groups or groups from social and medical-social institutions. An exploration notebook invites new festivalgoers to dive into the Festival’s history and discover its major artistic creations. To complement this historical perspective, the Maison Jean Vilar hosts the permanent exhibition Les Clés du Festival. Stories by first-time festivalgoers recounting their experiences can be found on the Festival’s website and social media platforms. 

تشكّل الزيارة الأولى إلى Festival d’Avignon تجربة لا تنسى، متوفّرة للجميع ولكل الأعمار. يسمح استقبال مميّز، وأدوات الوساطة بتوجيه هذه التجربة الأولى، لاسيما للمجموعات الآتية من المؤسسات التعليمية، والاجتماعية، والطبية-الاجتماعية. يمكن الغوص بتاريخ المهرجان واكتشاف إبداعاته الفنية الكبرى عبر سجل استكشافي مخصص. لإكمال هذا المنظور التاريخي، تستضيف Maison Jean Vilar المعرض الدائم Les Clés du Festival. يمكن العثور على روايات هذه التجارب الأولى على موقع Festival d'Avignon الإلكتروني وعلى شبكات التواصل الاجتماعي.   

See shows accessible for the first time

The Festival d’Avignon is a great celebration that showcases performances from all around the world. It is present in the city all year round, offering workshops, encounters and performances for the people of Avignon. In July, it opens up to the world: the streets come alive, artists share their creations, and Avignon moves to the rhythm of the performing arts.

This booklet helps you discover the Festival d’Avignon: its history, its venues, its values, and its performances. It invites you to experience the Festival at your own pace and to feel free and in your place. It also opens the doors to La FabricA, the Festival’s permanent venue.

Spectators coming to the Festival d’Avignon for the first time have rights, just like those who return year after year. Like all rights, they must be exercised so as not to be lost. The list below is not complete, you can invent new ones by adding the rights that seem important to you.

The following list is by no means complete — it is always a work in progress.

The right not to know the artists of the performance you are about to see

The right to laugh and/or cry during the performance

The right to be bored and even to fall asleep (without snoring!)

The right to imagine that the play was made especially for you

The right to have doubts and questions during and after the play

The right to applaud at the end, in your own rhythm

The right to leave before the end (even if sometimes it’s only at the end that we discover we love a play)

The right not to like the play (even when most of the audience does)

The right not to know whether you liked the play or not, and not feel obliged to decide

The right to love the play and come back to see it a second time

Tiago Rodrigues, inspired by Daniel Pennac, “The Inalienable Rights of the Reader” from Comme un roman, Paris, Gallimard, “Folio” collection, 1992.