rights of the play. However, he proposed three creations: Shakespeare's Richard II, one of Bard's plays that was little known at the time in France; Paul Claudel's Tobie et Sara (Tobie and Sara), and Maurice Clavel's second play, La Terrasse de Midi (The Midday Terrace). The very first Festival d'Avignon in September 1947 set the scene as a showcase for unknown work and modern scripts. Upon obtaining initial success, the festival began enjoying the contribution of many young talents. Among the actors and actresses invited by Vilar, one finds the following: Jean Négroni, Germaine Montero, Alain Cuny, Michel Bouquet, Jean-Pierre Jorris, Silvia Montfort, Jeanne Moreau, Daniel Sorano, Maria Casarès, Philippe Noiret, Monique Chaumette, Jean Le Poulain, Charles Denner, Jean Deschamps, Georges Wilson, and Gérard Philipe. The festival's success grew, in spite of criticisms, which were at times virulent. Vilar's idea of a "popular theatre" moved critics to refer to Vilar as "Stalinist", "fascist", "populist", or "cosmopolitan". On the other hand, Vilar's conception of the theatre remained conservative with respect to competing conceptions developed especially in the course of the 1960s. On the crest of the wave of contemporary tendencies to revolutionize theatrical practices, in 1966 Avignon's Théâtre des Carmes, co-founded by André Benedetto and Bertrand Hurault, staged a festival « Off », unofficial and independent. The following year, Benedetto's theatre was joined by other kindred theatrical companies. In response to the "Off" challenge, in 1967 Jean Vilar gave rise to the festival of the "Court of Honor of the Popes' Palace" (la Cour d'honneur du Palais des papes). Thenceforth, numerous further sites will be chosen to stage the festival's theatrical representations. Vilar directed the festival until his death, in 1971. In that year, Vilar's "In" festival included thirty-eight shows. 2020 edition and COVID-19 pandemic It was announced on 13 April 2020 that the 2020 edition would be cancelled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Strikes during the Festival Due to the anti-authoritarian protest movements of May 1968, the 22nd edition of the Festival of Avignon hosted virtually no French shows, halving the number of planned shows down from a total of 83. Relatively unaffected were the shows of the "Living Theatre", Maurice Béjart's representations at the Court of Honor, as well as various film viewings taking advantage of that same year's cancellation of the Festival of Cannes. Béjart's show of 19 July in the Court of Honor was disrupted by