Tiago Rodrigues Reappointed as Director of the Festival d’Avignon Until 2030
The Festival d’Avignon, one of the world’s most prestigious theatre events, has confirmed that its current director, Portuguese playwright and director Tiago Rodrigues, will remain at the helm until 2030. The announcement, made on September 30, 2025, secures Rodrigues a second four-year term beginning in October 2026.
Rodrigues, 48, first took on the role in autumn 2022 after being named director in 2021, becoming the first non-French artistic leader in the festival’s history—an honor shared only with Edinburgh in terms of international stature. His reappointment reflects both strong institutional support and the festival’s record-breaking momentum, with the 2025 edition reporting attendance levels above 98% across its 42 productions.
In a statement, the festival’s board emphasized that Rodrigues intends to continue preserving artistic freedom while strengthening Avignon’s international reach through production, touring, and partnerships. He has also pledged to deepen initiatives launched during his first mandate, particularly audience accessibility and diversification, as well as community engagement throughout the year.
One of Rodrigues’s signature innovations has been his thematic programming that highlights a different language each year: English in 2023, Spanish in 2024, and Arabic in 2025. Looking ahead, he has already announced that Korean will be the featured language in 2026, further underscoring his commitment to intercultural dialogue.
Beyond his directorial role, Rodrigues continues to write and stage productions of his own. Recent highlights include Hécube/pas Hécube with the Comédie-Française in 2024 and La distance with actor Adama Diop in 2025, currently on tour. His artistic career, spanning collaborations with Belgium’s tg STAN collective, the founding of the company Mundo Perfeito, and his leadership of Portugal’s Teatro Nacional D. Maria II (2015–2021), has earned him recognition as one of Europe’s most influential theatre makers.
Rodrigues’s reappointment also comes during a moment of internal transition at Avignon, following the June 2025 resignation of the festival’s deputy director, Pierre Gendronneau, amid personal reasons and a separate investigation into allegations of misconduct linked to earlier work at another institution. Despite this turbulence, the festival’s board reaffirmed its confidence in Rodrigues’s leadership to guide the organization through its next chapter.
As the Festival d’Avignon looks toward its 80th edition and beyond, Tiago Rodrigues’s extended mandate signals both continuity and innovation. With his mix of artistic vision, international sensibility, and commitment to accessibility, he is poised to further solidify Avignon’s role as a global meeting point for theatre and ideas.
Main image: Tiago Rodrigues. Photo © Christophe Raynaud de Lage
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