Theatre in Avignon
The Avignon Festival 2026 runs from 4 to 25 July. For its 80th edition, it is built around the idea of doubt, a question mark that slams its fist on a table, according to the visual identity created by the Marseille agency Perméable.
Avignon in July is something else entirely. The city transforms completely. The streets become stages, the walls fill with posters, the terraces stay open late. For those who live here, it's familiar and still a little disorienting every year.
What makes this edition different
The Festival Off celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, and for the first time in nearly 25 years, the IN and the OFF run on the same dates. It's a convergence that changes something in the atmosphere of the city, everything happens at once, everywhere.
For the first time too, a majority of women are directing shows presented at the Festival: 27 women, 16 men and 6 collectives. A strong signal for an edition that celebrates doubt as a creative force.
The spotlight language this year is South Korean performing arts, little known in Europe, an unusual direction that opens up interesting perspectives.
Living in Avignon during the Festival
I grew up here. The Festival has always been part of the landscape. It's a city that knows how to welcome people who make things.
In July, everything shifts. Those who know it well understand: you either embrace the energy completely or you adapt to it. No middle ground. The city doesn't leave you indifferent during these three weeks.
What's interesting is that the Avignon Festival brings in a very different crowd from the one that lives here the rest of the year. Curious, open people, often looking for something they can't yet name. It's a particular kind of energy.
The IN and the OFF — two different logics
The Festival IN is the main stage. The Palais des Papes, the institutional venues, the international productions. Demanding, sometimes unsettling, always ambitious.
The OFF is a different dimension: over 1,500 shows in a hundred theatres inside the city walls. More accessible, riskier too. A lot of interesting things happen there, and a lot of less interesting things. You have to filter.
For people coming from outside, the advice is always the same: don't plan everything in advance. Leave room for what comes.
Getting a tattoo during the Festival
Avignon in July is also an opportunity for people visiting the city to take the time for a tattoo project. Three weeks on site, no rush, enough time to discuss a project properly.
I work by appointment at Graphicaderme, 29 rue Thiers. If you're in Avignon for the Festival and you have something in mind, this is the moment. → Contact me
Practical information
Dates: 4 to 25 July 2026 Festival IN: festival-avignon.com Festival OFF: festivaloffavignon.com
If you like this format of local addresses, I've done the same for my London addresses.
From 4 to 25 July 2026. The IN and the OFF run on the same dates this year — a first in nearly 25 years.
The Festival IN brings together major international productions in institutional venues like the Palais des Papes. The Festival OFF offers over 1,500 shows in a hundred theatres inside the city walls — more accessible, more varied, riskier too.
This 80th edition is built around doubt, a way of saying that uncertainty is a creative force rather than an obstacle.
South Korean performing arts, a scene little known in Europe that makes its entrance at the Festival.
Yes. I work by appointment at Graphicaderme during the Festival. It's often a good time for visitors who have time on site to discuss a project. → Contact me
