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The Future of European Festivals
- Central European University Press
- Chapter
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The Future of European Festivals Bernard Faivre d’Arcier [3.91.11.30] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 14:19 GMT) 111 Even if we sometimes trace the word ‘festival’ back to its ancient root (calling to mind the traditional events of Bayreuth, Orange and Verona), the idea of the arts festival as we know it is relatively recent. The modern festival has evolved as part of the ‘leisure society’, with its extended summer holidays and its all-pervasive media. The theatre festival in Avignon, the oldest and best known of all the French festivals, was founded in 1947 by actor and director Jean Vilar. Yet Vilar would never have imagined the success and geographical expansion that the future would bring to the festival phenomenon. For him, the festival was just another one of the many methods he used to bring young people together to share his aesthetic and moral values. Immediately after the World War Two, festivals sprang up simultaneously in several countries. At the same time as Avignon and Aix-enProvence were started in France, similar events in Edinburgh and Recklinghausen were born. This synchronicity implies that the festival is both a social and a historical phenomenon, one both rooted in and responding to the spirit of the times and to our consumer society. Since then festivals have spread widely, to the extent that there are now innumerable iterations 112 across the globe. Unfortunately it appears that we have now reached saturation point, and these events more often than not have become formulaic rather than more individual creative enterprises. Aren’t there too many festivals now? Hasn’t the public got tired of the very concept of a festival? Has the festival itself dissolved into just another facet of the tourism industry? It is important to remember that festivals can play a significant role in introducing new works to the public. All over Western Europe more and more plays struggle to reach a wider audience, mainly in the world of public theatre, in countries where theatre comprises a multitude of small companies working on a project by project basis. While countries such as Germany or those in Central Europe perform repertory theatre so that actors are assured work all season, in France there is an imbalance between the number of plays produced and the availability of venues. This overproduction of plays can ultimately lead to media overkill and exhaust the interest of the public. Yet despite these problems, the festival is still capable of breathing fresh life into a city’s theatrical scene: indeed, some plays are written with this exact revitalising purpose in mind. The festival can still serve to increase audience numbers and expand what Brecht called ‘the circle of connoisseurs’. [3.91.11.30] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 14:19 GMT) 113 While this all may be true of Western Europe, we cannot complain of the same level of saturation in the rest of the continent. Eastern Europe may have adopted the festival format some time ago, but there is still remarkably little opportunity to take shows from one country to another. Does the festival still retain its original meaning? A festival is characterised by its exceptional nature. The word ‘festival’ is as synonymous with ‘carnival’ as it is ‘estival’ (a French term derived from the Latin word for ‘summer’, aestivalis). This exceptional nature is what has granted festivals such as Avignon or Edinburgh their longevity. (66 years, that is retirement age!) They offer a summer gathering over three or four weeks in a historic city, where all venues are accessible by foot, and where theatre lovers can unite in their shared passion. Festivals have their fair share of detractors. Certain critics, often permanent institutions (such as the Centre Dramatique in France or the Teatro Stabile in Italy) frequently object to festivals as mere cultural frivolity. These institutions, because of their very permanence, take it upon themselves to act as cultural advisors and educators. Over time, this kind of objection has fortunately become less frequent for a number of reasons. Firstly there is the clear role which festivals play in initiating and teaching the public about theatre and other art forms, as well as their 114 ability to lend a marked visibility to continuously operating venues and institutions. Secondly there is the fact that after a festival has taken place, arts groups know that they need only introduce festive moments to their annual programme to rekindle the flame of public interest. So what is...