The programming for this play was decided in 2020, long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A play by Russian director and director Kirill Serebrennikov, still banned from leaving Moscow, will open the Avignon Festival in July, the theatrical event announced on Thursday.
“We do not know for the time being whether he will be present in Avignon. Of course we wish it fervently”, explained to AFP the director of the festival Olivier Py, specifying that “the programming of this piece has been decided two years ago, long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine”.
Daring creations
At the Cour d’honneur of the Palais des Papes, the emblematic venue of the festival (July 7-26), the 52-year-old artist known for his daring creations, his support for LGBT+ and his indirect criticism of Vladimir Putin’s regime will present The Black Monkbased on a little-known short story by Anton Chekhov.
He had already presented a preliminary version of this piece in Hamburg in January, when he had obtained a surprise authorization to make a trip to Germany. In June 2020, Serebrennikov was sentenced for embezzlement to a three-year suspended prison sentence and a ban on leaving Russia during that time.