Le Chainon Manquant
Multidisciplinary festival of live performance and emerging stage arts
About Le Chainon Manquant
Le Chainon Manquant is a multidisciplinary festival dedicated to live performance and emerging creation, organized every year in September in Laval and Changé, in Mayenne. Created in 1991 by the Réseau Chainon, it is a unique meeting point between artistic laboratory and professional market, allowing emerging companies to be spotted by national programmers. Its program mixes theater, street theater, circus, dance, music, and comedy in about twenty partner venues.
Travel to this festival
Book your train or bus to reach Le Chainon Manquant at the best price.
Sponsored link
A festival at the crossroads of creation and dissemination
Since 1991, Le Chainon Manquant has established itself as one of the essential events for emerging live performance in France. Born from the will of the Réseau Chainon, a collective of theater directors and venues founded in the mid-1980s, the festival was designed to fill a gap: to create a direct link between artists and programmers, in a spirit of cultural short-circuit, fairness, and solidarity.
Held in Laval and Changé, in Mayenne, Le Chainon Manquant transforms the city into a vast artistic playground every September. More than twenty venues — performance halls, public spaces, inner courtyards, squares, and gardens — host the shows, creating an atmosphere of constant discovery in a friendly and accessible setting for everyone.
A multidisciplinary program focused on emergence
The uniqueness of Le Chainon Manquant lies in its program, built almost entirely from territorial scouting carried out throughout the year by the members of Réseau Chainon. The Région(s) en Scène(s), professional viewing days organized from January to March in various French regions, form the basis of this demanding selection. This process guarantees a program rooted in the reality of contemporary creation, highlighting companies and artists often little known to the general public.
The festival covers a wide disciplinary spectrum: theater, street theater, street arts, circus, dance, music, comedy, and young audience shows. Each edition offers between sixty and seventy-five shows for over a hundred performances, providing professionals and the public alike with a rich and varied panorama of emerging French creation.
A leading professional event
Beyond its festival dimension, Le Chainon Manquant is a true live performance market. Each year, it welcomes several hundred scouting professionals — venue directors, programmers, agents, producers — from all over France to discover shows likely to be included in their next season. This professional dimension, unique in Western France, makes the festival an essential springboard for emerging companies, offering them national visibility and concrete dissemination opportunities.
The festival also relies on a network of over 300 committed volunteers, who contribute to welcoming the public, logistics, and the event's conviviality, representing several thousand hours of volunteer work.
Strong territorial roots in Mayenne
Le Chainon Manquant is deeply rooted in the Mayenne territory. The festival takes over emblematic venues in Laval and Changé, from the Théâtre de Laval to the Espace Scomam, as well as public spaces transformed into temporary stages for the occasion. A Prologue, organized the weekend before the festival, extends the program to several towns in the Laval agglomeration, with theater, circus, fanfare, and world music shows. This local presence contributes to the cultural influence of the Mayenne department and generates significant economic benefits for the region.
Le Chainon Manquant — edition 2026
35th edition of Le Chainon Manquant in Laval, from September 15 to 20, 2026. Multidisciplinary festival of emerging live performance: theater, circus, dance, street arts, music, and comedy. Program developed from territorial scouting of Région(s) en Scène(s), with over 70 shows expected in about twenty partner venues.
35th Edition: A Festival That Continues to Connect
Le Chainon Manquant celebrates its 35th edition from September 15 to 20, 2026, in Laval and Changé. True to its mission of bridging emerging creation and dissemination, the festival continues its work of scouting and highlighting the companies and artists shaping the future of live performance.
This anniversary edition's program, as every year, is based on the Région(s) en Scène(s), professional viewing days organized from January to March 2026 in various French regions by the members of Réseau Chainon. This selection process, unique in the French festival landscape, guarantees a program rooted in the reality of contemporary creation and attentive to new artistic forms.
The festival will once again take over about twenty partner venues in Laval and Changé — performance halls, public spaces, heritage sites — to offer a multidisciplinary program mixing theater, street theater, street arts, circus, dance, music, and comedy. Over 70 shows are expected, offering professionals and the general public an exceptional panorama of the emerging French scene.
A major professional event of the cultural season, Le Chainon Manquant is expected to welcome several hundred programmers and live performance professionals from all over France, confirming its role as an essential springboard for the dissemination of emerging artistic forms.
Highlights Le Chainon Manquant 2026
- 35th edition of the festival — anniversary
- September 15-20, 2026 in Laval and Changé
- Multidisciplinary program: theater, circus, dance, street arts, music, comedy
- Selection from Région(s) en Scène(s) 2026
- Over 70 shows expected in about twenty venues
- Several hundred live performance professionals expected
Prices Le Chainon Manquant 2026
Practical information — Le Chainon Manquant
Practical Information
Location and access
The Le Chainon Manquant festival takes place in about twenty partner venues in Laval and Changé, in Mayenne (53). The shows are spread across performance halls, cultural spaces, and outdoor venues in the city center and its surroundings.
- By car: Laval is accessible via the A81 highway (Paris–Rennes), Laval-Centre exit. Free and paid parking is available in the city center.
- By train: Laval SNCF station, served by TGV (1h20 from Paris-Montparnasse) and TER from Rennes and Le Mans. The festival venues are within walking distance of the station.
- By bus: The TUL urban transport network serves all festival venues.
Ticketing
Ticketing is available online on the official website lechainon.fr/billetterie and on-site during the festival. Prices are intentionally accessible to encourage access for the greatest number.
Indicative prices
- Show ticket: approximately €8 on average
- Street performances: free
- Pass packages and reduced rates are offered for festival-goers wishing to attend multiple shows.
Accessibility
The festival strives to make its entire program accessible to the greatest number. Most venues are accessible to people with reduced mobility. For any specific questions, contact the festival team in advance.
Volunteering
Le Chainon Manquant recruits over 300 volunteers each year to support the festival's operations: audience reception, company support, logistics, ticketing. Registrations are open on the official website.
Professional accreditations
Live performance professionals can request accreditation via the festival's official website. Accreditation provides access to all shows as well as dedicated professional meetings and exchanges.
Contact
- Address: Réseau Chainon — Espace Scomam, 4 rue de l'Ermitage, 53000 Laval
- Phone: 02 43 56 01 29
- Ticketing: [email protected] — 06 73 81 09 84
- Communication: [email protected]
- Official website: lechainon.fr
Festival-goer photos
No photo yet. Share yours!
Share your photos
5 photos max, 5 MB per photo (JPG, PNG, WebP)
Festival-goer reviews
No rating yet — be the first!
No review yet. Be the first!
Were you there?
Share your experience with the community
Travel to this festival
Book your train or bus to reach Le Chainon Manquant at the best price.
Sponsored link
Where does it take place — Le Chainon Manquant
Espace Scomam et lieux partenaires — Laval / Changé
4 rue de l'Ermitage, 53000 Laval