Scènes en Campagne
Itinerant festival combining live performance and rural heritage in Saône-et-Loire
About Scènes en Campagne
Scènes en Campagne: when live performance reveals rural heritage
Conceived and supported by the Département de Saône-et-Loire, Scènes en Campagne is an itinerant festival of a singular kind that happily combines live performances and the discovery of rural heritage. Since its creation in 2022, this entirely free summer event travels across the department every June to take over exceptional and often little-known heritage sites, offering the public magical evenings where art dialogues with history.
An original and immersive concept
The principle of Scènes en Campagne is as simple as it is generous: each evening begins with a guided tour of the heritage site — provided by the owners of the premises or by local associations — before giving way to live performances. This immersion in heritage enriches the understanding of the territory and gives a particular resonance to the artistic performances that follow. Spectators thus discover wash houses, bread ovens, forges, tile factories, medieval towers, mills, chapels, and oratories — all witnesses to ancestral know-how and history.
Several evenings across the department
During June, Scènes en Campagne takes over nine remarkable sites spread throughout Saône-et-Loire, from Bresse Bourguignonne to Mâconnais, from Charolais to Chalonnais. Each edition explores a different heritage theme:
- 2022 Edition: wash houses and ovens
- 2023 Edition: ovens and forges
- 2024 Edition: medieval towers and keeps
- 2025 Edition: mills and presses
- 2026 Edition: chapels and oratories
This thematic approach highlights the richness and diversity of the departmental built heritage, while offering a new discovery route each year to residents and visitors alike.
A demanding artistic program
The artistic program gives pride of place to the departmental and regional scene, with performances of theatre, contemporary dance, circus, music, and multidisciplinary acts. The selected companies offer artistic forms adapted to the venues — intimate, surprising, often outdoors — which create a unique and ephemeral atmosphere. The festival is also a formidable agent of cultural education, making live art accessible in rural areas in a spirit of sharing and discovery.
A departmental cultural initiative
Scènes en Campagne is part of the ambitious cultural policy of the Département de Saône-et-Loire, which supports access to culture throughout the territory and the enhancement of local heritage. The festival is managed by the Department's Directorate of Cultural Action Policies, in close collaboration with site owners, host communes, and local associations.
Scènes en Campagne — edition 2026
2026 Edition — The chapels and oratories of Saône-et-Loire
For its 5th edition from June 2nd to 30th, 2026, Scènes en Campagne explores a new facet of Burgundian heritage: chapels and oratories. These often modest buildings, scattered across the countryside or nestled in villages, bear witness to popular spirituality and exceptional rural architectural savoir-faire. The Département de Saône-et-Loire has selected nine of them, each of which will host an evening combining a heritage visit and a live performance.
Nine evenings in nine communes
In 2026, the festival will take place in the following communes:
- Vitry-sur-Loire
- Saint-Sernin-du-Bois
- Uchon
- Saint-André-le-Désert
- Cuiseaux
- Dyo
- Marly-sur-Arroux
- Igé
- Mellecey
Each evening begins with a guided tour of the chapel or oratory, led by the owners of the premises or local heritage associations, before making way for the scheduled performance.
A multidisciplinary program
As with each edition, the 2026 program gives pride of place to departmental and regional companies, in a wide variety of forms:
- Creation theatre and short forms adapted to the venues
- Contemporary dance and in situ choreographies
- Contemporary circus
- Music and song (ancient music, polyphonies, contemporary creations)
The detailed program for each evening is available on the website of the Département de Saône-et-Loire and will also be communicated via local press and host communes.
For all audiences, entirely free
As every year since 2022, the entire festival is free. The performances are aimed at all audiences. For some evenings, prior reservation may be requested by email at [email protected] to ensure proper reception of the public in sites that sometimes have limited capacity.
Prices Scènes en Campagne 2026
Practical information — Scènes en Campagne
2026 Edition — Chapels and oratories
Dates: June 2 to 30, 2026.
Locations: nine heritage sites spread throughout the department (Vitry-sur-Loire, Saint-Sernin-du-Bois, Uchon, Saint-André-le-Désert, Cuiseaux, Dyo, Marly-sur-Arroux, Igé, Mellecey).
Prices: entirely free, all evenings.
Booking
If booking is essential, write to: [email protected]. The precise details for each evening are communicated on the Department's website.
Access to evenings
Itinerant festival: locations change each evening. Precise addresses and itineraries are communicated for each evening on the Département de Saône-et-Loire website. Bring comfortable clothing suitable for the weather (performances may take place outdoors).
Organizer contact
Département de Saône-et-Loire — Directorate of Cultural Action Policies (DLPAC)
- Address: 81 chemin des Prés, 71850 Charnay-lès-Mâcon
- Website: www.saoneetloire71.fr
- Email: [email protected]
- Dedicated contact: Léa Doudon — [email protected] — 06 33 31 36 04
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Where does it take place — Scènes en Campagne
Sites patrimoniaux de Saône-et-Loire
Sites patrimoniaux itinérants, 71000 Mâcon