Silence: Lucie Antunes and Mathilde Monnier's choreographed concert at Avignon Festival

At the 80th Festival d'Avignon, Lucie Antunes and Mathilde Monnier presented 'Silence' at the Carrière Boulbon from July 5 to 8, 2026, at 10 PM. Unlike previous productions at this iconic venue—such as Peter Brook's 'Mahabharata', Philippe Quesne's 'L'Effet de Serge', Tiago Rodrigues' 'Ecube pas Ecube', and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker's 'Brel'—this piece does not rely on a grand sound-and-light show across the vast space. Instead, all action is concentrated on a central circular stage, a large gray disc surrounded by black, with instruments (drums, vibraphone, piano, modular synthesizers) placed at the center. The audience sits in tri-frontal bleachers with limestone cliffs in the distance. Seven dancers and three musicians, including Antunes, enter together; the dancers are hybrid performers—dancers, singers, musicians—who move around the circle like a vinyl record. The piece invokes silence through polyphonic and monodic chants, but ultimately suggests that silence is a myth in a noise-saturated world. Dancers frequently leave the central instrument area to engage in energetic, live dance driven by live music. Some recite Laura Vázquez's libretto 'Le centuple du réel'. The performance evokes a trance, reminiscent of Sufi dancers' circles. The powerful electronic sound reverberates off the high rock walls. The work is described as a 'choreographed concert' recalling Merce Cunningham's 'Ocean' with music by Andrew Culver and David Tudor.