Carolina Bianchi's 'Uma Luz Cordial' at Avignon Festival Draws Harsh Criticism

A scathing review of Carolina Bianchi's performance 'Uma Luz Cordial' at the 2026 Festival d'Avignon, presented from July 4 to 7 at Opéra Grand Avignon and again on July 12 and 13 as part of her trilogy 'Trilogia Cadela Força'. The critic describes the piece as a vacuous, self-indulgent display of pseudo-pornography and literary name-dropping, lacking dramaturgy or coherence. The performance features a dark stage, a screen with rapid surtitles, actors simulating sex, stroboscopic lights, and loud noise. Bianchi references writers such as Hilda Hirst, Emily Dickinson, Fernando Pessoa, Henry Miller, and Antonin Artaud. The critic compares her unfavorably to Angélica Liddell and Jan Fabre, arguing that Bianchi's provocations are gratuitous and serve only her ego. The review concludes that the work is an artificial, boring ordeal that fails to justify its explicit content.