In memoriam Valère Novarina - Book Launch and Readig, Photo Exhibition and Novarina’s performances at the MITEM

In memoriam Valère Novarina

1942-2026

On 16 January, news broke that Valère Novarina – an exceptional, avant-garde figure of contemporary French literature and theatre – had passed away. Born in Geneva in 1942, he wrote his own stage texts, directed his productions, and also designed their visual worlds. He was a regular guest at the Avignon Festival, widely regarded as one of Europe’s leading theatre events. In 2006, his play Furious Space (L’Espace furieux) was added to the repertoire of Comédie Française. In 2011, his play Real Blood (Le Vrai sang), which was performed in the Odéon Theater in Paris, won the Production of the Year prize. Upon his death, the prestigious Le Monde described him as “a poet of the stage and a magician of language,” an artist of great significance also as a visual artist and essayist.

Novarina’s connection to Hungary began in Debrecen, where in 2009 he directed The Imaginary Operetta (L’Opérette imaginaire), which was performed on five consecutive evenings in the Odéon Theater in Paris. In recent years, several of his books have also been published in Hungarian, including The Theatre of the Acting Word (Le théâtre du mot agissant), The Light of the Body (Lumières du corps), and The Imaginary Operetta. A volume of studies on his work has also appeared, and he gave masterclasses at Károli Gáspár University and at the University of Theatre and Film Arts.

He participated in the Madách International Theatre Festival (MITEM) several times with his performances. This year’s programme includes The Characters of Thought, and he had planned to attend in person alongside the artists involved in the production.

Book Launch and Readig

Valère Novarina: The Unknown Act

13 April, Monday, 5 PM

Foyer of the Gobbi Hilda Stage

At the heart of Valère Novarina’s art lies a search for the mystery of language: his plays explore the physicality, musicality, and creative power of speech. His theatre is both deeply philosophical and intensely theatrical; in his works, the human figure becomes a site of renewal through the word. Novarina has created a distinctive artistic universe not only as a writer, but also as a director, set designer and visual artist. The Unknown Act (L'Acte inconnu, texte et mise en scène) is published in Hungarian for the first time as part of the book series of the University of Theatre and Film Arts, Budapest. The text was translated into Hungarian by Enikő Sepsi, who also wrote the preface to the volume.

The Unknown Act does not tell a story; rather, it unfolds as a movement toward a kind of “rhythmic catastrophe,” followed by a form of resurrection, enacting the disintegration and renewal of language and human representation. There is no conventional plot, no linear sense of time, and no psychologically developed characters, only a flow of speech that breaks down human figures, only to recreate them through the energy of utterance.

Readings from the volume by Nándor Berettyán and Anna Ráckevei. Participants: Adélaïde Pralon, Zsófia Rideg, Enikő Sepsi, Nelli Szűcs, Attila Vidnyánszky. Accordion: Szabolcs Szász, Christian Paccoud. Moderator: Réka Szabó.

Photo Exhibition

Valère Novarina in Hungary

13 April, Monday, 6 PM

Foyer of the Gobbi Hilda Stage

Photographs by Zsolt Eöri Szabó and András Máthé, capturing moments from Valère Novarina’s productions in Hungary as well as from performances presented at MITEM.

Novarina’s performances at the MITEM

The Breeding Pool of Names

(L’Union des Contraires, Festival d’Avignon, CDN de Montluçon és a Le Fracas) – 2016

Thus spoke Louis de Funès

(Csokonai Színház / Csokonai Theatre, Debrecen) – 2016

The Play of Shadows

(Théatre National Populaire, Marseille) – 2022

Death to You, Death!

(Reading with the actors of the National Theatre) – 2025

Gondolatalakok / The Characters of Thought

(Théâtre National de la Colline, Párizs – Théâtre National Populaire, Villeurbanne) – 2026

(24 March 2026)