Avignon's 5.5-hour play raises questions about audience diversity
In a column for Le Monde, editor Michel Guerrin questions the programming of a five-and-a-half-hour play, "Maldoror," at the Festival d'Avignon. He notes that while theater increasingly produces politically engaged works addressing global issues, the primary victims of these issues are often absent from the audience. The piece reflects on the tension between artistic ambition and the cultural sector's stated goal of diversifying audiences.
Key facts
- The play 'Maldoror' is being performed at the Festival d'Avignon.
- The play has a duration of five hours and thirty minutes.
- Michel Guerrin is a rédacteur en chef at Le Monde.
- Guerrin wrote a column about the play.
- The column questions the reasonableness of such a long play given efforts to diversify audiences.
- Theater produces many politically engaged works about global problems.
- The main victims of these problems are not present in the audience.
- The Festival d'Avignon is the venue for the performance.
Entities
Institutions
- Le Monde
- Festival d'Avignon
Locations
- Avignon
- France