The earlier theatre generation of Genet, Anouilh and Camus, joined by Beckett and Ionesco, hasn't really had successors. In the 1950s, Roger Planchon set up a company in a suburb of Lyon, determined to play to working-class audiences. It became the Théâtre National Populaire, the number-two state theatre after the Comédie Française, and now does the classics with all due decorum. Bourgeois farces, postwar classics, Shakespeare, Racine and Cyrano de Bergerac make up the staple fare in most theatres. But certain directors in France do extraordinary things with the medium. Classic texts are shuffled to produce theatrical moments where spectacular and dazzling sensation takes precedence over speech. Their shows are overwhelming: huge casts, vast sets – sometimes in real buildings never before used for theatre – exotic lighting effects and original music scores. They are a unique experience, even if you haven't understood a word.Directors' names to look out for are Peter Brook (the English director who has been in Paris for decades and is based at the Bouffes du Nord theatre), Stéphanie Loik and Ariane Mnouchkine, whose Théâtre du Soleil based at La Cartoucherie in Paris's Bois de Vincennes, is one of Europe's most celebrated theatre companies. Indeed, La Cartoucherie has become something of a centre for cutting-edge theatre. It's also home to the Théâtre de la Tempête under Philippe Adrien, the Théâtre de l'Aquarium under Jean-Louis Benoit and the Théâtre de l'Epée de Bois amongst others. As for contemporary playwrights, Yasmina Reza is probably the best known outside France thanks to her play Art (1994), about a group of friends who fall out over a modern "painting" – in fact a blank canvas – which received the prestigious Tony Award for the best play on New York's Broadway. In 2000 she followed this with Life x 3, exploring the same themes of friendship. Other up-and-coming writers include Lionel Spycher and Claudine Galea. At a less sophisticated level, café-théâtre, literally a revue, monologue or mini-play performed in a place where you can drink and sometimes eat, is to be found in most major towns. The humour, featuring a lot of wordplay, and allusions to current fads, phobias and politicians means that it's often not that accessible to non-French speakers. Street theatre is also flourishing. In summer you'll find performers out in force in all the major tourists resorts and it's well worth taking in one of the many festivals. The most noteworthy include those held in Chalon-sur-Saône (July), Aurillac (Aug) and Sotteville-lès-Rouen near Rouen (June). As regards more "traditional" theatre, the Festival d'Avignon (July) is by far the most important and exciting event, while the Festival d'Automne in Paris (mid-Sept to mid-Dec) is also gaining a solid reputation. Details of Paris theatres are given in the Guide. In other cities, the theatres are often part of the Maisons de la Culture or Centres d'Animation Culturelle; local tourist offices usually have schedules and tickets are not expensive.
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