The 64th edition of the prestigious (and very serious) Avignon Festival, dedicated to theatre, will open next July 7th, in Avignon, South-East of France. Among the numerous plays which are to be seen, one is directly connected with Eurovision: its title is 1973.

1973 is written, directed and played by Swiss artist Massimo Furlan. The man explains that he wanted to reproduce as exactly as possible the 1973 contest. By the way, Furlan is no novice at this game. In Furlan/Numero 23 (a former play), he reconstructed the Italy-Germany football match (World Cup final 1982).

Recurring themes in his work are memory and biography. "Eurovision was what Europe was doing best in terms of music at the time" he says, reminding he was only a child. He remembers Patrick Juvet representing Switzerland, Furlan's own home-country. "A young, smiling, blond, tall, long-haired guy, singing easily, so confident… in spite of the fact he was Swiss". Of course, the man not only sings and mimes contestants of the singing competition, he plays the role of Pino Tozzi, a 1973 fictive contender, who became a singer for weddings and prepares his come back!

The play will also be given next October at the Kaaitheater in Brussels. Booking for Avignon here .

Special thanks to Patrice Péril and Valérie Dabe.