Festival History

Created in 1987 by Enrique Pardo and PANTHEATRE under the auspices and presidency of James Hillman, the Myth and Theatre Festival took place in 1987 and 1989 at Château de Malérargues (Roy Hart Centre). It then moved to La Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lez-Avignon from 1991 to 1997, and travelled to New Orleans (1999 and 2001), Ireland (2000), Granada (2002 and 2003).

In 2005 it returned to Malérargues, the Roy Hart Centre, for a cycle on "Myths of the Voice", of which the last one was in July 2008 titled: "Scheherazade, and her voice today".

The 2012 festival was dedicated to James Hillman, Pantheatre's and the Festival's honorary president and main inspiring figure, who passed away in 2011.

Since 2015 the Festival has been exploring topics in a Cycle dedicated to MAGIC in dialogues with French philosopher and ethno-historian Xavier Papaïs.

past themes & links

GENII Plural (2024)

FETISH (2023)

Psyche's Task (2022)

SUPERSTITION, A Performance Take (2021)

Note: the 2020 Festival was cancelled due to COVID

LUCK : Chance / Suerte / Fortuna (2019)

Nekyia / Descent to the Underworld (2018)

Teiresias : Oracular Voice, Blind Seer, Transsexual (2017)

Eros & Psyché (2016)

Performance & Possession (2015)

DREAMS(s) (2014)

SPIRIT(s) (2013)

James Hillman (2012)

Anna Griève / Radical Evil (2011)

The Pastoral Workshop (2010)

Singing after Roy Hart (2010)

Emotion (2009)

Scheherazade, and her voice today (2008)

see ARCHIVES for earlier events and links.
Internet archives of the Festival, from 1999, will be relocated on this website

Sirens and Sybil (2007)

Broken Sounds (2006)

Myths of the Voice (2005)

Fury (2003)

Mythical Mediterranean (2002)

Jealousy (2001)

Gossip (2000)

Hermes (1999)

The Enemy (1997)

Magic (1995)

Aphrodite (1993)

Dionysos (1991)

Alchemy (1989)

Tragedy (1987)

Mythology and Theatre / Principles

Original Chart 1987

The Myth and Theatre Festival was created to study the relations between myth and theatre from a double point of view:

1 - in the use of mythological motifs in theatre dramaturgy, following the models of tragedy and comedy. In these traditions the stories and characters of classical mythology are represented, rewritten and reinterpreted - from the extant original founding figures - Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes - to contemporary variations.

2 - in the fact that a large section of contemporary performance aims at creating images which have mythical dimensions, regardless of whether they include or not literal mythological references. This is what could be broadly called "image theatre", and includes most of physical and dance theatre, and contemporary opera. Pantheatre's own approaches to choreographic theatre and to voice performance certainly fit into this category, with the inclusion of voice work and text interpretation.