from berlin. ukraine issues a warning to ships headed for russian control ports on the black sea. such vessels may be associated with risks of carrying military cargo. after moscow made a similar threat. fires flare up in greece. authorities tell thousands living near the capital, athens, to leave their homes after previously contained wildfires

and burning out of control. and berlin per lease are on the prowl after a lion is reported on the loose, caught on camera in a suburb. also on the show, excitement down under at the women's world cup. more than 75,000 fans see australia get their campaign underway with a narrow win over ireland. ♪ i'm nicole frolich. good to have you with us. rising tensions on the black sea. ukraine responding in kind to a russian threat to treat ships bound for ukraine as enemy targets. kyiv says they will now consider vessels traveling to russian occupied ukrainian territory to be potentially carrying arms. both developments following a decision by the kremlin earlier

this week to allow a deal on the export of crane by the black sea to expire. the un security council will meet friday to discuss the humanitarian consequences of withdrawal from the deal. how serious is this threat? i put this to our correspondent in ukraine. nick: ukraine in the past has hit russian targets. we all remember the flagship of the russian black sea fleet sunk last year. ukrainian drones have struck on the black sea coast, wasn't successful back then but they can get that far. the important thing here is that ukraine doesn't have to do anything so far. simply by making the announcement, by making clear that they see this as a legitimate target, it has posed a huge price on russia. lots of foreign ship owners might decide it's not worth the risk and will have a huge impact

on the russian oil industry sending most of the oil to places like india through the black sea. the most interesting thing about all of this is how this has been the most obvious thing to respond to in-kind and russian state media did not know how to talk about it and simply had the sense that this is something russia can do to ukraine but it could never happen the other way around. nicole: is it in the interest of ukraine to add to tensions like this? 4 there -- nick: there is a sense in ukraine that trying to do what and says the west he wants to do, like rowing back some of those sections on russian banks and other russian trade, the limitations, a couple of weeks down the line, russia would keep using this, the control over shipping in the black sea, so important for people around the world, to put pressure and get new demands. the sense here is that just by

making these announcements today they can put a lot of pressure on russia and change the psychology and make russia aware that they are in a position to lose a lot -- lose a lot. russian oil knocking on the door of the kremlin saying we really need the shipping routes to get the money you need for your government is more likely to urge them to keep current arrangements and place, to allow the grain to reach different places around the world. nicole: if the black sea was off-limits because of confrontation there, what would be the alternative for ukraine to get grain to the world? nick: difficult. last year 30% of the grain went by rail and by truck, but those routes are much more expensive and simply don't have the capacity. as long as it's shut we will see these prices rise and people around the world scratching their heads, wondering where they will get their bread from.

nicole: nick, great to speak to you. greece has asked residents west of the capital to evacuate after wildfires that were previously contained it started to burn out of control. the fire department is on high alert after a new flareup of the blaze has been raging since tuesday. firefighting planes from italy are helping efforts as authorities embrace for a new round of extreme weather. greece is experiencing 43 degrees celsius temperatures. that's 109 degrees fahrenheit as heat waves continue to grip southern europe through sunday. dw reporter spent the day with firefighters battling a blazing greece and he sent an update. >> they set up a makeshift headquarters inside of this bus at a gas station. earlier in the day they were optimistic they had essentially contained the fire that had been

raging since earlier this week. now there is a sense that they will have another long night because they are fighting a fire on three intense fronts. one of them is just behind me on the hill. hitting it from the sky and from the ground, you can hear helicopters dropping water on it and as she is falling from the sky right now but the situation is changing constantly and rapidly. earlier we saw just how volatile a wildfire can be when we saw it engulfed an entire summer camp in front of our eyes. one minute the firefighters and volunteers were taking a break, having a drink, next they were running for safety. there is a feeling here that everyone should have their bags packed and be ready to go, just in case. nicole: here in berlin's police have told residents of the southern suburbs to stay inside as a massive operation is underway to catch one of the

worlds top predators, believed to be on the prowl. >> a short video that caused a huge uproar. a big cat caught on camera attacking a wild boar in a suburb just outside berlin. police mounted a massive search operation, bringing in vets and hunters in an attempt to capture the wayward feline. while authorities are taking the footage seriously, they are warning residents to be alert, keep pets and children indoors. the mayor tried to allay fears with tongue-in-cheek humor. >> in the case of people making jokes, this is not the new way of hunting wild boar's, using lionesses. we are not setting up a serengeti park to set up -- solve the wild boar problem. it's a serious situation. >> locals however are not taking any chances. >> i have two little dogs.

that is probably ideal lion food. >> i have to be honest, i panicked a bit because it is a different caliber compared to another dog or pet that has run away. i'm going to run home, now. i'm running home. >> while the search continues, speculation mounts on where exactly the lioness came from. the berlin zoo says there are no animals missing. >> there is no way that this animal escaped from a circus. apart from circus krona, no one has wild animals on the road in germany at the moment. >> experts say that if anyone encounters the lioness, standstill and avoid eye contact. >> standstill, look at what the animal is doing. then the animal will standstill and look at what you are doing. as the animal gains control of the situation, it can decide

what it does next. >> for now at least the queen of the jungle seems to have made herself the queen of the forest. nicole: let's get back to craig, who is where the animal was most recently seen. we just saw the police move away from where you are. have authorities made any progress in catching the lioness? craig: i am here on the perimeter of a large wooded area in the southwest of berlin that has become the epicenter and focus in the hunt for the missing lion. across the afternoon and into the evening there have been several ordered sightings -- purported sightings of the missing cat but authorities have yet to confirm that it has happened. despite the number of boots on the ground, police and animal experts and the large amount of

technology that has been deployed in the hunt for the big cat, as of yet the lion is still very much on the loose. nicole: on the lucid we have no idea where it came from, do we? craig: that's right, as you heard in the report before hand, the locals used animal sanctuaries -- the locals -- the local zoos and animal sanctuaries and even the circus are not missing a lion asked. the problem is that given the quite clandestine nature of the big cat industry, people simply don't know the number or where these cats might be. so where it came from, indeed like where it is, remains an unanswered question. nicole: i know i would not like

to be where you are right now. how have residents been reacting to the news? craig: it seems largely peaceful on the streets going on this afternoon. a few people were out walking in the evening sunshine. quite a few cyclists. even the odd person taking a pet for a walk. by and large people seem to be respecting the safety protocols that have been put in place across a vast area. 230 square kilometers, including not just here in the suburbs but also up to and including the city parameters of berlin. nicole: craig, thank you for your reporting and stay safe. here is a look at other news from around the world. russian prosecutors have really ask a court to sentence alexei navalny to a further 20 years in

jail. his trial for alleged extremism is being drawn to a close and is being held behind closed doors at a penal colony where he is serving charges on fraud. egypt has freed two human rights activist gets from prison. one was arrested in 2020 over an opinion article that he wrote. a lawyer had been charged with spreading fake news and joining a terrorist group. the two were among six people pardoned this week by the egyptian president. the former u.s. secretary of state henry kissinger has met with the chinese president in beijing, who held the 100-year-old diplomat as an old friend. kissinger called for friendlier relations between the u.s. and china. washington has stressed that kissinger is not in china in a official capacity. the german east minister for climate affairs is in india

where he is attending a g20 meeting of ministers on sunday. dw asked him why india was so important to germany. >> we have a fine economic relationship with india. this way it becomes more and more important now. the geopolitical situation has changed in europe due to unprecedented aggression in ukraine. we learned painfully that being, being, being dependent on only one country, in this case, for energy, can be dangerous. we have now a strong independency on goods from china, that trademark it is very big. it's ok to have a big partnership with china but being dependent is not so good.

we are searching for new partners. de-risking our economy, bringing india and germany in, with frank cooperation we can scale up the relationship. >> what kind of outcome are you expecting from the visit? >> i have three sectors of the highest importance, for me and my colleagues. we have opened our market for the labor force. we are in need of people. if indians are seeing this interview and are interested in going to germany to work there, you are more than welcome. we have a lack of workforce in germany and in india there's a lot of skilled and well educated people who are very welcome. we have good cooperation on

energy matters. this becomes more and more important. we have to face it, global warming is a reality and we have to stop it as soon as we can. renewed energy efficiency, this is the issue of the day and we should cooperate even more. and in negotiations on free trade agreements, that would create a fine framework for trade and investments in india, as well as germany. this is very concrete and i hope, i hope, i hope i can raise the threshold on the higher level. >> you talk about the changing geopolitical situation. how uncomfortable are you on the indian position over the situation in ukraine? >> if

there is an justice, you cannot remain neutral. we have the same position in the green party. being neutral in a situation where war is, we don't want to choose a side in this war is wrong, was wrong from the beginning. there is always an aggressor. if you say you don't distinguish between them, in a way you don't, you don't, you don't reflect the real situation. i respect the indian tradition and partnership with russia and must admit that the rest of europe has also always not played the best role in geopolitics. i respect that india is not germany and that this country is following another path. but saying that we are staying neutral when there is an ongoing

war, that cannot be the last answer. i would be very glad to help in our relation if india tried to use clear language and said this is a one sided. putin possible war, people dying because he has some ideas of a united russia or whatever. it's not the fault of the ukrainian people. that would be of great help. nicole: eu interior's are holding two days of talks in spain for a fresh attempt at an agreement on a migration deal. 2000 people drowned trying to reach europe i see this year. shipwrecks of migrant boats off the coast of greece and the spanish canary islands means that pressure is mounting to prevent a further loss of life. as jack reports, europe is a long way from finding common ground on how to tackle a common problem.

jack: hundreds have drowned as boats go down in the mediterranean sea and it raises questions over whether you policies architect -- whether eu policies are to blame. persons seeking asylum must apply to the first country they arrive in. during the migration crisis, mainly one million refugees arrived in greece and italy. asylum offices became overwhelmed. hope -- ever since, numerous unsuccessful plans have been proposed to try to force other eu countries to accept transfer of asylum-seekers, relieving the pressure on first arrival countries. eu ministers agreed to a complex system for sharing responsibility or allowing countries to financially assist others if they didn't want to accept more migrants. hungary and pulling -- poland are trying to torpedo the proposal saying that they refused to accept migrants or

pay, insisting it will only encourage more people to head to europe. stopping the journey before it begins is what the eu calls the external mention of the migration agenda. on the north african coastline. the eu is offering tunisia one billion euros to keep people there. similar to the 2016 deal that you struck with turkey. billions of euros in exchange for detaining 3 million syrians in the country. migrant support organizations say it encourages countries like greece to prevent anyone from arriving in europe, pushing people back to where they came from, illegal under international law. greece says they are protecting the borders of the eu. they ended their own search-and-rescue missions in 2020.

they were accused of failing to step in and save lives during the recent shipwreck. but the boss says they can only inform national border guards of impending tragedies. now they say they should leave greece entirely as they risk being located in the legal pushback. as it stands, the eu migration policy remains unresolved as summer root arrives and the expected groups of people border -- boarding smoker boats are expected to reach the european union. nicole: i asked a senior researcher short while ago if we are getting closer to how -- getting closer to a final agreement on the eu migration policy. >> i can't speculate as to whether we are closer today but there was a meeting today in

spain in which they focus their talks on the last remaining item in the package of proposals under negotiation for which they haven't found a compromise that deals with situations of instrumentalization and crisis and this is an important element of the package where the member states continue to disagree. some expressed previous concerns about possible fundamental rights implications coming from these instruments. others pushed for more exemptions in the past. notably the baltic are concerned about the repetition of the situation they faced in 2020 one when they facilitated the arrival of thousands at their borders. i think that whether the new pact is agreed to will not only depend on whether member states find a compromise on this

specific proposal but most importantly whether the european parliament and council will be able to find a compromise common ground on the package of reforms . even though it is hard to predict, the outcome of these negotiations, i can only say that the council and the department have never been under so much pressure to get the deal approved. nicole: you wrote that the compromised deal reached by eu countries might not even deliver results. why is that? >> fundamentally most member states in the parliament understandably want a system that has predictable and reliable but the text they agreed to in june is neither straightforward nor balanced. this may be for two reasons. first, the rules that member

states agreed to in principle in june are extremely complicated and full of convoluted operational measures, making the rationalization and implementation hard to predict, which could in turn lead to low compliance. we know that this is a short supply that could affect them further, which one travels between them. the second reason is the taxes they provisionally agree to in the southern states, for the northern states compared to the current system. nicole: we only have a couple of seconds but i was hoping for a yes or no answer. hungary and poland are refusing to pull their weight so far. will the rest of the member states be able to convince them? >> i don't think so. raising the question of what will eventually happen if the rules are agreed upon.

nicole: thank you so much for your time. the women's world cup is underway but just hours before kickoff, the host city of auckland was under temporary lockdown as two people were killed after a gunman opened a -- opened fire at a high rise building site. several others were injured and the shooter was found dead after the shootout. the new zealand prime minister says no political or ideological motivation has been identified but it did spark security concerns in a country where gun violence is relatively rare. the opening match, then, fortunately went on without any incidents. the norwegians lifted the trophy in 1995 but underwhelmed in the opening match as the locals savored a victory. >> understated opening ceremony featuring a performance by first

nations dancers and singers before they observed a moment of silence before kickoff. the cohosts where the clear underdogs, but it didn't show. three minutes into the second half, goal kickstarting a superb attack as new zealand stormed up the pitch and made their superiority count. one star striker swept home a cross for wild celebrations and after 15 unsuccessful attempts, the first world cup win of new zealand was on the horizon with a golden opportunity to double their lead after full-time after one captain missed from the penalty spot. but it stayed one-neil. relief and joy at the final whistle. nicole: australia beat ireland in front of 75,000 fans in

sydney area the current was raised with a short opening ceremony followed by a goaless first half. a penalty was given when ross was fouled and cap lee stepped up to send the locals into raptures. there we can see her. finally, hundreds of golden retriever's from around the world have come together at their ancestral home in the scottish highlands. dogs and their owners from 12 countries held a unique celebration in glen africa, where the breed originated. the first ever golden retriever puppy was born at the stately home over a century and a half ago and the reader still going strong. golden retriever's are celebrated by dog lovers the world over for their reliable friendly natures.

i have to admit, i might be one of them. a quick reminder of the top story that we are following at this hour. kyiv says they will consider ships traveling to russian ports and russian occupied ukrainian territory to be potentially carrying arms following a similar warning from moscow. the developments come after the announcement from the kremlin to allow a deal on the export of crane through the--grain through the black sea to expire. stay with us, after a short break i will be back to take you through the top stories of the day and i hope to see you there. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> the united nations secretary general condemns russia for its attacks on black sea ports are having an impact far beyond ukraine, sending global food prices higher. despite calls from some advisors for significant shakeup, france's cabinet reshuffle is not the major overhaul some had expected. washington says despite reaching out to north korea, there is still no word on the soldier travis king who crossed into the country on tuesday.

welcome back to the france 24 newsroom in paris. thank you very much for joining us. for a third consecutive night, russia has struck ukraine's southern cities with drains and missiles, giving at least -- killing at least two people in the port city of odessa. at least 19 were injured. this uptick in violence in southern ukraine comes on top of pressure's decision to pull out of the deal, which allowed ukraine to export grain via the black sea. the termination of the deal could affect millions around the world and has already sent food prices markedly higher. in the northeastern region of kharkiv, it is not ukrainian but russian forces who have gone on the offensive. russia has amassed a huge attacking force in the area of kyiv in advance by a kilometer or more. gulliver cragg is there and filed this report.

>> looking east, one can see as well as hear the artillery battles. >> over there is the occupied luhansk region, 15 km away. the front line, it is 8 km. the artillery is pounding villages while the actual, on the ground fighting -- contact, and mean -- is happening out there. we have the oslo river here. the invaders probably want to get back to that area to make it the front line. >> ukrainian soldiers stood triumphantly in front of this city hall building, but since then, the town has been anything but peaceful. the area has been shelled regularly for months, leaving some residents very afraid. >> i went to one of our soldiers and asked what will happen to us, and he said --

[indiscernible] >> city authorities say they constantly have to fight alarmist russian disinformation. >> they spread fake news intended to so panic among the population. here is a typical example. it says the city administration is evacuating. of course, when people read that, they think things must be really bad. >> yes, it is tough. yes, there is a buildup of russian soldiers and equipment, but we will deal with this, and little by little, we will reconquer all the occupied towns. >> in this spirit of defiance, municipal workers are sprucing up the main square. >> i don't know if that was outgoing or incoming. i can't tell. of course we are worried -- who wouldn't be? but we still have to work. >> so far, russian soldiers have never managed to retake the town they lost to and -- to a

ukrainian offensive, but here they keep trying. >> a cabinet reshuffle in france after a tumultuous few weeks which has seen some violent protests. some of president emmanuel macron's advisors call on him to turn the page and announced a significant shakeup, but in the end, this was not the major overhaul some had expected. the highest profile change is the appointment of a new education minister, who was the former government spokesperson. >> this government reshuffled, two main changes drawing attention. the french public -- he was until now the right headman of the prime minister. he was the head of her cabinet. also, major change with the

education minister replaced by a highly political figure. he was until now a junior minister under the authority of the finance ministry. also a man who joined early on emmanuel macron, his bid for the french presidency, so he knows the french president extremely well. among the other changes, the minister of housing is out, possibly paying the price for his actions during the recent riots where some in the ruling party accused him of not speaking out enough. this government reshuffle has taken a little more time than expected. we have been waiting for an announcement for the past two days. it came late. it seems there were disagreements or at least discussions between the prime minister and french president, emmanuel macron, wanting this to only be a few changes and wanting to limit the scope of this government reshuffle.

>> the white house says that despite reaching out to north korea, it still does not have any information on the whereabouts of the u.s. soldier who crossed into the country on tuesday. private travis king, who faced disciplinary action on his return to the u.s., crossed the border from south korea. >> he is the first known american to be held in north korea in nearly five years. private travis king avoided being sent back home to the u.s. to face disciplinary action by crossing over the north/south korea border on tuesday. his mother in wisconsin made a plea for her son to be returned. >> i just want my son back. get my son home. get my son home and pray. pray that he comes back. >> washington says it has had no response from pyongyang in its attempts to discuss the soldier. >> we have relayed messages to the dprk that private king

crossed on his own and we want him return safely. we also asked for more info on his well-being. i will say that we retain a number of challenges -- a number of challenges -- a number of channels through which we can send messages. >> north korea has been conducting ballistic missile tests. the latest one coincided with the arrival of a u.s. nuclear armed submarine in south korea. without mentioning the u.s. soldier, north korea issued a statement saying the current deployment of a u.s. submarine at the south korean border was a most direct and undisguised threat. the current tensions could complicate efforts to release private king. >> temperature records have been

broken in several places on three continents during the course of the past week. southern europe is one of the areas in the grip of a prolonged period of scorching heat. parts of greece have seen the mercury hit 43 degrees centigrade, and authorities announced they will be closing archaeological sites like the acropolis during the hottest hours of the day. firefighters are currently battling massive wildfires on the greek mainland. >> about 20 km west of athens, is inspecting the charred remains that used to be his home after wildfires tore across greece after a bout of extreme weather. >> can anyone feel good after seeing a house burn? without any help come up with just my pension, i cannot make it was before.

i worked all my life to build a house and within one hour, you see what has happened. >> the wildfires were stoked by temperatures surpassing 43 degrees celsius. it comes as greek scrabble with a heat wave. authorities began mass evacuations to several communities. four planes were sent from italy and france as part of the eu support package. the greek prime minister has warned citizens to remain vigilant while bracing for a second he lived forecast to start thursday. >> we are facing a difficult phenomenon. we are facing another heat wave and a possible strengthening of the wind, so absolute vigilance and absolute readiness are required over the next few days. the hard times are clearly not over yet. >> the state of emergency has been declared on the island. evacuation orders announced for

mountainous areas and archaeological sites, including the acropolis, were closed during the day due to the heat. >> more than 1000 rescue workers continue their search for survivors in the indian state where at least 60 people have been killed by a landslide triggered by rainfall. experts say the growing number of extreme weather events in india and elsewhere is the result of climate change. france 24's team in india filed this report with us. >> farmland destroyed, houses submerged. months of rains have caused record flooding in delhi. 10 days after the torrential rains, they have come to assess the damage. they have lost everything. >> there were about 350 shacks

here. you can estimate the number of children living in these camps, but all these -- all the huts were washed away by the floods and no one was able to get there belongings away. in just one area, we had to abandon our lives. some people have been living here for 30 or 40 years. >> they are among the 30,000 people relocated by the government in these emergency camps set up under the flyover. a farmer who lost his agricultural lands to the floods. over the past few days -- >> if there's too much flooding over the next few days, i will have to go back to my village. what else can i do? if the floods come again, i will have to take refuge. the floods won't be here forever , or so i hope. >> thousands are waiting for the water level to receipt so they

can resume their routine lives. every day in the camp, ngo's and individuals come to distribute food. a private school from the suburbs of delhi is distributing daily essentials to effective families. >> different students bring different things, and we collected them. we have collected about 50 cases of each item, like sugar. >> so far, extreme weather has given that's taken more than 100 lives and displaced thousands in india. >> that brings us up-to-date with world news. thanks for watching. stay tuned to france 24. ♪

♪ ♪ >> hello and welcome to the 77th edition of the avenue on -- avignon international festival. with a new director at the home for the first time in nearly a decade. the first noninfringement to lead it, in fact he sees as a reflection of the festival's international and humanist spirit. >> the fact that i'm the first foreigner or non-fritchman --

noninfringement speaks to the spirit of the festival and part of french society and about myself. it means the festival has been a cultural event for decades and a crossroads of cultures, languages, worldviews, it plurality of aesthetics but also ethical visions of the human experience through performing arts. above all, i will try to leave a mark that lives up to the brilliant genetic code of the festival. ♪ >> it seeks to be a member of the world, and its two opening-night performances put social justice center stage. a french choreographer and hip-hop pioneer began her dance show out in the street and ended

on stage at the opera house in a communal dance party with the public. the show also included a powerful response to the killing of 17-year-old nahel, who was shot by police just a week before the festival open. meanwhile, a french director brought society's most marginalized voices to the festival's most prestigious stage. it is based on their 1973 documentary by frederick wiseman that intimately captures the devastating, humorous, bureaucratic, and at times existential interactions at a welfare center. >> [speaking foreign language] ♪ >> this year, avignon introduced

english as a guest language. my guest today is a british writer, actor, and director. the festival director has said brexit is one of the reasons he chose english. he really wanted to showcase british artists. what does it mean to you to be performing here? >> i think it is an inspired decision. at a time when so much of the international community is moving away from the u.k., the u.k. has placed itself at a distance from the international community and europe in particular, it is oh fantastic and sort of counterintuitive, the move towards the u.k. and say we still love you, we still need you, and i wish people in my country would understand that. >> you have been described as one of the great innovators of british drama. can you talk about your particular approach to theater? >> "the great innovator," well, i don't feel like that. i'm lucky enough that i have

been able to pursue some ideas, and perhaps that is a little unusual in british theater, that my work is led by ideas. i suppose that means the work is not traditional in that sense, but i always try to tell a story in the work. the play i'm working on at the moment tells a powerful story, and the experiment is around how the story is told but also how the audience is involved. >> how would you explain what it is like, what it is about to someone who will not be able to see it? >> it is in one way a traditional space -- traditional peace and tells the story if you have been meeting after a tragic event, and they were their relationship with that event. it is made particularly unusual in that one of the actors who placed one of those characters is new each time the play is performed. an actor who meets me one hour before the show. they still don't know the play.

they must not have read it before the show. i guide them through text i read into their earpiece. >> the tragic event is the death of one of the character's daughters who was hit by the car of the other character. >> this is the place where your child was killed. you come here regularly. the truth is you cannot keep away. this is the sound of that road sign. whenever you hear this sound, that is where you are. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language]

>> you wrote this play in 2005, so nearly 20 years ago. you have performed it over 360 times with over 360 different partners. what is it like for you acting with someone different every single night? >> it is like it is the first time every single time. i have never felt like i'm bored or traveling old roots because the actor brings their personality, their emotionality, and it is my job in each performance to be responsive to that. >> it is a very difficult topic. why did you decide to build that show around the tragedy of a parent losing a child? >> one of the things of the play is how we respond to loss and the role of art in our response to loss, so one character is not an artist. one character is a stage hypnotist, but for the

characters of this play, i see them as an artist. in response to the loss, the artist loses their ability and the non-artist finds their ability. it is how art can help us through these extreme moments. >> that is definitely something this festival is all about. there are nearly 1500 others taking part as part of the fringe festival. we followed one group of new performers as they make their debut. >> [speaking foreign language] >> that's two more. a few hours before the premier, the stage company are pestering as many as possible to see their play with 1500 shows vying for customers' attention, layering

-- flyering is the best way to get attention. >> it is a bit stressful, but i love it. >> when we started our theater company, thanks for the flowers, we were just joking around. we said, oh, yeah, we will do the avignon festival, but here we are. >> after two hours in the baking heat, the seven of them returned to warm up in their flat. they cannot rehearse in the theater because the shows are back-to-back morning tonight. their piece, which grew out of a student project, received funding from an award for young talent backed by public and private bodies. the text has gone through 20 versions before coming here. >> part of it is thanks to them. i work with the structure they devised, and afterwards, they improvise on it a lot. we are a group of funds, so that

is reflected in our work. >> it is mid afternoon and they are heading to the theater. the characters revisit their memories inside a square or tape on the floor, like a game they used to play as friends. >> [speaking foreign language] [screaming] ♪ >> the script quite accurately depicts how we love and loose. >> good luck to the actors. they are great. >> all the theater companies here have the same dream -- get noticed and maybe even bag a run in a bigger theater.

>> you also have a show in the festival. tell us about that one. >> feels like i'm mr. avignon this year. the first show i ever wrote was a piece called "my arm." a beautiful theater maker has been performing his own version. he has been an ally and collaborator in some of my work, such it is nice to be able to straddle both the in and the off. >> the other player you are showing in the festival is a solo show you wrote more recently in the pandemic. tell me about "truths adult must tell." >> it was -- it opened last year and was written out of the pandemic, i suppose, in response to having spent a lot of my time in lockdown looking at screens, watching what was called theater on screens and feeling, this is not what theater is. theater is about being in a real

place with real people. it was a response to that. the title is a strange one, but it comes from shakespeare's king lear. there is a cat -- character called the fool, who leaves the world of the play. i'm exploring leaving the world of lockdown. it was an incredibly difficult time for artists. >> the characters have to explore the question of the death of live arts. is that something you worry about? >> i worry that gradually the digitization of an art form will push the live nature away. you will always hear me speak on behalf of liveness. you cannot televise it. you cannot put it on the radio. it is theater. >> you are mr. avignon. i'm so glad to have met you. thank you for coming up on the show. the festival may be centered around performance, but visual arts are present as well.

we can and with a show that has taken over the museum of contemporary art. it is a series of 23 colorful installations, but behind their playfulness lies a serious message about colonialism and climate injustice and a call to repair our world. thanks so much for joining us. we hope to see you again.

♪ >> france 24. every art form. >> liberte, egalite, actualite. ♪

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