Our highlights from the 2025 Avignon theatre festival
Issued on:
07:55 min
The Avignon theatre festival is a three-week concentration of performing arts – dance, drama, readings and debates – which is now in its 79th year. Hundreds of events are crammed into the relatively small French city, often in beautiful historical sites. And that's just the official programme. FRANCE 24's Olivia Salazar-Winspear has been filming a special show there and joins us on set to give us her personal highlights from the festival.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Verstappen and Wolff laugh off Sardinia holiday stories
Max Verstappen, pictured here at Silverstone, quashed rumours he spent his holidays in Sardinia discussing a potential move to Mercedes The pair were reported to have been seen and photographed together on the Italian island following the British Grand Prix and after the shock sacking of Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. But Verstappen told reporters that he was "swimming in the ocean at the time" and Wolff said he was impressed that people were producing "photo collages", and that it was coincidental they were both in Sardinia. "Well, I was swimming in the ocean at the time," said Verstappen of the claims before dismissing them. "I don't really care about those things. "Because I went on holiday with my friends, my family, and when other people also are there at the same time, that can happen. I mean, there are more people on the island than just me and Toto and the family. "If you go to the same island, that can happen." Wolff conceded it was unlikely Verstappen would be joining Mercedes after rumours had abounded in recent weeks about a shock team move. "The direction of travel is definitely that we want to continue with George (Russell) and Kimi (Antonelli). That is the absolute priority," he said. "But you can't look past someone like Max and the plans he has for the future. We did that, but I don't think there will be any big surprises. "What is new is that people are doing photo collages with aeroplanes. We've never had that before! "But if you spend your holidays close to each other, it doesn't mean that you're going to work together in Formula One. We have always got along well and by chance we like to spend our holidays at the same places." © 2025 AFP
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Hungary bans Kneecap performance over 'antisemitic hate speech'
The Belfast group has made headlines in recent months after it sharply criticised Israel and its military campaign against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza. Known for their confrontational style and Irish nationalist messaging, the band has denied supporting violence or banned groups. But their anti-Israel comments on stage at the Glastonbury Festival in June drew global condemnation. While Kneecap has denied any terrorism connection, singer Liam O'Hanna, known by his stage name Mo Chara, has been charged in the UK with a "terror" offence over alleged support for Hamas and Hezbollah in connection with a performance last year. He is due to appear in a London court in August. The rappers have been taken off the bill for festivals in Scotland and Germany this year because of the controversy. However, they are scheduled to appear at France's Rock en Seine on August 24. "Hungary's government has moved to ban @KneecapCEOL from entering the country and performing at @szigetofficial -- citing antisemitic hate speech and open praise for Hamas and Hezbollah as justification," government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs wrote on X. "Granting them a stage normalizes hate and terror, and puts democratic values on the line," Kovacs wrote, citing Hungary's "duty to protect" its Jewish community. The travel ban can be challenged within 30 days. Kneecap was scheduled to perform on August 11 at the Sziget festival in Budapest, which ranks among Europe's largest outdoor music bonanzas, drawing about 400,000 people each year. The trio denounced the decision by the "authoritarian government of Viktor Orban" on its social media channels as "outrageous", saying the move had "no legal basis". "It's clear this is a political distraction and a further attempt to silence those who call out genocide against the Palestinian people" Kneecap said on X. 'Unprecedented move' Israeli ambassador to Budapest Maya Kadosh praised the Hungarian government for "its clear stance". Festival organisers, however, expressed regret over the "unprecedented move", warning it could "negatively affect Hungary's international standing". "We believe that cancel culture and cultural boycotts are not the solution," they said. Almost 300 Hungarian artists, including Oscar-winning film director Laszlo Nemes, joined a petition earlier protesting the trio's planned Sziget performance. Facing growing pressure, festival organiser Tamas Kadar said there was no "good answer" to the issue. "We do not tolerate hate speech in any form -- and that includes antisemitism," but "we remain committed to the spirit of free expression" and "will not act as censors", Kadar wrote in an op-ed published last week by a Hungarian newspaper. Hungary is one of Israel's closest allies in the European Union, with Prime Minister Viktor Orban directing police to ban pro-Palestinian rallies following the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Global american pop icon Taylor Swift now at Madame Tussauds
01:23 11/07/2025 Original Birkin bag sells for record $10 million at Paris auction Culture 09/07/2025 France to loan iconic Bayeux tapestry to London's British Museum Culture 23/05/2025 Cara Delevingne: 'Women who resist inspire me' France 21/05/2025 What's forbidden on the red carpet at Cannes Festival France 20/05/2025 Cannes Festival: Behind the scenes of a press junket France 18/05/2025 Austria's JJ wins Eurovision 2025 with opera-techno fusion Culture 18/05/2025 Inside Eurovision : An insider's guide with Eurovision podcaster Charlie Sohne Culture 17/05/2025 Werenoi, best-selling artist in 2023 and 2024 in France, dies at the age of 31 Culture 17/05/2025 Harvard thought it had a cheap copy of the Magna Carta. It turned out to be an original. Culture
