It’s a village festival that has all the big stuff. For 24 years, Saint André has been opening its open-air theater to the very best in theatre. This year, for the first time, the line-up includes 100% of companies that form the Top of the Off d’Avignon festival currently running from July 7 to 29.
This is the meeting place for theater lovers. Vaudeville, classic or contemporary, Saint Andrew’s Festival in the Pyrénées-Orientales is a delight for spectators. Most of the faithful like Marie-Pierre, a resident of the village.
I have been coming to the Saint-André Theater Festival for many years and it is always good. Even better and better.
Marie-Pierre, resident of Saint-André
In one week, more than 1,600 spectators had the pleasure of discovering Pagnol’s Provençal-sounding dialogues in “Naïs” or “Hamlet in 30 minutes”, a tragic comedy revisited by William Shakespeare.
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“Naïs” by Marcel Pagnol by the Company “The typing errors” • ©Compagnie “The typing errors”
The long-awaited closing evening brought together more than 400 spectators who came especially to listen to the actor Philippe Caubère and his “Lettres de mon moulin”. A headliner and renowned companies, for a 2023 edition placed under the sign of novelty. This year, the entire program has been carefully selected from the best of the festival off d’Avignon.
The idea is to see as many pieces as possible and to choose according to what Saint-André may like and then to make a balanced choice so that everyone can find themselves in this festival.
Francis Manent, Artistic Director of the Saint-André Festival
An additional notch in the move upmarket of the Catalan festival which has been professionalized for three years now while maintaining its authenticity with performances in the open air.
We met Francis last year at the Festival d’Avignon. When he told us about his festival, I immediately felt passionate. We accepted right away. Playing “Naïs” by Pagnol in such a setting, with the song of the birds, the sound of the leaves, it could only be sublime. It’s an environment you can’t find anywhere else.
Arthur Cachia, Actor – Company “The Mistakes”
Saint-André, an authentic site and team for an outdoor theater festival. • © Elsa Panades
In 2000, the Municipal Office of Culture of Saint-André in the Pyrénées-Orientales, a team of volunteers, cohesive and dynamic, organized the first Theater Festival. From the choice of plays to the reception of the troupes, from the preparation of the meals to the table service, from the two daily performances to the closing evening… A Festival stamped “Made in Saint André”. In some years, the Theater Festival has been sponsored by celebrities: Pierre Richard, Christine Delaroche, Jean-Claude Bodracco, Marie Bunel, Bernard Menez and Renatta Scant in 2019.
The Festival is also access to local and quality culture, meeting theater geniuses. This is a major challenge for the town of 3,400 inhabitants. Thus over these 24 years Molière, Racine, Camus, Maupassant, Pagnol, Hugo, Sartre, Shakespeare… have invited themselves to Saint André. “A local festival accessible to all” is what motivated Francis Manent, former Mayor of the town and a great lover of the show.
Theater for all, whatever our origins, our means, our possibilities, our age. Everyone should be able to find it. Live performance suffers a lot in France, so there are two interests in having a festival in a village: to have professional troupes play and to allow the inhabitants of small villages like Saint-André, and who may not travel elsewhere, to enjoy quality shows at an affordable price.
Francis Manent, Artistic Director of the Saint-André Theater Festival
The Saint-André Festival makes it a point of honor to offer “theater for everyone and for all budgets”. • © Elsa Panades
Supported by local authorities and around fifteen sponsors, the Saint-André festival brings live performance to life thanks to the commitment of its management and volunteers. In order to satisfy the appetites of a growing audience, the Saint-André team has already set off again in search of its future performances at the festival off d’Avignon ongoing until the end of July.
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