Festival des Jardins

Solo performances in the city's gardens

The Festival des Jardins transforms the private and public gardens of Tournon-sur-Rhône into ephemeral stages for performing arts every spring. Created by the Compagnie No Man's Land, a performing arts company based in Tournon-sur-Rhône, this festival offers an original format: solo performances spread over two weekends in May, with two performances per day, each show taking place in a different garden in the town.

A sensory journey through the city

The Festival des Jardins invites the public on a true sensory journey through Tournon-sur-Rhône. Throughout the performances, spectators discover intimate and sometimes little-known gardens in the town: private gardens opened for the occasion, public parks, tree-lined courtyards, and terraces overlooking the Rhône. Each location gives the performance a unique atmosphere, creating a special connection between the artist, the spectator, and the plant environment. This itinerant format is also an invitation to rediscover the city from a new perspective.

Local and regional artists

The programming of the Festival des Jardins highlights artists from Drôme-Ardèche and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Half of the programmed artists are from the Drôme-Ardèche territory, while the other half comes from the wider region. This choice reflects the Compagnie No Man's Land's desire to promote local creation while offering artistic discoveries. The disciplines represented are varied: theater, dance, music, circus, storytelling, and movement arts.

A festival born after lockdown

The Festival des Jardins was born from a post-lockdown initiative by the Compagnie No Man's Land, which settled in Tournon-sur-Rhône specifically to lead this project. The original idea was to bring residents together in intimate and open spaces, the gardens, after a period of isolation. The festival has found its audience and has quickly established itself as an anticipated spring event in the cultural life of Tournon and Ardèche Hermitage.

Sustainable economy and artistic proximity

The Festival des Jardins is part of a sustainable and ecological economy approach. By favoring local artists, using existing locations without heavy infrastructure, and maintaining reduced audience sizes, the festival limits its environmental impact while promoting proximity between artists and the public. Solo performances allow for a direct and intimate relationship with the spectator, in the spirit of human-scale theater.