Avignon 2012: Celebrating the Jean Vilar Centennial

The sixty-sixth edition of the Festival d’Avignon gave ample evidence that its founder’s idealistic vision of the event as “un lieu de recherche, de contestation et de découverte” continues to hold sway. Highlights included new adaptations of classic European texts, stage pieces by the French filmmaker-dramatist Christophe Honoré, installations from Steven Cohen and Sophie Calle, and a variety of dance-theatre works. As this year’s artiste associé, Simon McBirney, the director of the British-based company Complicité, also left a particular mark on the programming.