Since its opening on Thursday, the Avignon Festival has been in full swing. With 1,570 shows scheduled in the Off and 46 in the In, the biggest theater event in Europe is trying to reconnect with the effervescence of the era before the Covid pandemic. But behind the scenes of the professional world of live performance, there is no shortage of difficulties, obstacles and delicate questions. Interview with Denis Gravouil, Secretary General of the CGT Spectacle Federation, the leading representative organization in the performing arts in France.
RFI : More than 1,600 shows are announced for the In and Off Festivals in Avignon. Is it a sign of vitality and renewal or rather of the survival of actors and companies ?
Denis Gravouil : We are almost at the level of 2019 and now the questions of precariousness from the pre-Covid era are resurfacing. In Avignon, there is food and drink on the reception conditions of the companies. Some go into debt to go to the festival and some merchants take advantage of it. We must ensure that entertainment professionals and artists can make a living from their profession. After two particularly heavy years of Covid, it is not necessarily obvious.
What has changed the most for a comedian, actress or company compared to the times before Covid ?
Beyond the Covid pandemic and the health crisis, there is a trauma in relation to the way we have been treated, even if President Macron claims to have saved culture. For two years, we said that culture was not essential, that we could put that aside. Theaters were closed first and reopened last. This is a big problem, because many people feel attacked in the quality of their work. Today, there is obviously the desire to rework, to meet and win back the public again, because part of the public has moved away, not so much in festivals, but in certain halls. Big events attract people, so we hope that there will be people in Avignon and that the public will find their way back to the theatre.
Have public expectations changed? ?
It’s not easy to win back a young audience that hasn’t had time to go to the theatre. There is a risk. The cultural mediation that brings people in must find a new lease of life. For that, you need a real employment plan, because the situation is tense. We see all the problems that we already had reappear: young people have difficulty getting started and those over 50 have difficulty staying in these professions. Yet there are so many fabulous shows that need help finding their audience.
In the field of cinema, the model has shifted since the start of the pandemic in favor of platforms and streaming. In the theater, can we also speak of a paradigm shift since 2020 ?
There are things that have been accentuated by the pandemic. The absence of part of the public. The taste of the youngest – and of the not so young too, for that matter – for digital. It’s a real challenge for live performance. Some spectators are afraid to go to public places and no longer dare to enter the rooms, although we have taken all the necessary precautions. You have to be able to reassure and offer both artistic proposals and attractive price offers.
Mediation will help us, because, as we can see, if we let the Culture pass [un crédit de 20 à 300 euros pour les jeunes entre 15 et 18 ans pour des offres culturelles, dispositif mis en place par le gouvernement français, NDLR]this so-called “success” of President Macron, in reality we let habits reproduce and we do not necessarily reach new audiences in theaters.
Should we look for the public also elsewhere than in the room ? Should we try other formats, other themes, for example more humor and more laughter for an audience traumatized by the Covid pandemic, the climate emergency and the war in Ukraine ?
It is certain that it is necessary to seek the public. We must not be satisfied with opening theaters or cultural venues. A lot of shows were sacrificed, because they were played for a very short time, due to scheduling jams. We need mediation. That is the role of public service. Unfortunately, we have not yet heard the new Minister of Culture fully assert this role of public service.
One of the results of the presidential and legislative elections in France is a very strong push from the far right. In Avignon, in the first constituency of Vaucluse, voters elected a deputy from the National Rally (RN). Feel a kind of republican front emerging in the entertainment world ?
The presence of the RN in the National Assembly and in many constituencies is a question that is asked of all of us. Unfortunately, we feel a kind of absolutely disturbing trivialization of what is the National Rally. It is a racist, xenophobic, sexist and homophobic party. There are many examples, despite their attempt to notabilize and de-demonize. In terms of culture, not only are their convictions pathetic, but we remember that in many places this was the occasion for censorship in certain town halls when the National Front had won certain municipalities.
Obviously, there are the worst concerns about the rise of the National Rally. Indeed, it is complicated, because the dikes are breaking and it is no longer as easy as a few years ago to carry out joint actions to fight against the National Rally. As far as we are concerned, we are determined to continue to fight this party which is not a republican party in our opinion.
► Read also: Opening of the Festival d’Avignon, creation, crises and the public