From June 16 to July 4, the 3rd edition of the Festival of Tragedies will take place at the Cimiez arenas. Organized by the National Theatre of Nice, the event will include five productions by different directors.
This edition of the Festival will host five plays at Cimiez: Seaside, The Suppliants, Berenice, Mythical! and A Windless Day. There will also be several events in various locations around Nice. For example, between June 20 and July 4, the public will be able to attend the Trial of Great Figures on the esplanade of the Franciscan Hall.
The festival aims to celebrate classical and contemporary tragedy while highlighting the work of directors, playwrights and tragedians. It had already enjoyed considerable success in 2024 and 2025, notably with 4,500 spectators at the second edition, of which 23% were under 26 years old.
“We live surrounded by conflicts, excesses, violence, fear and intolerance,” laments Muriel Mayette-Holtz, director of the TNN. “All these profoundly human impulses speak of an insecurity that too often stems from tragic situations. Our Festival does not celebrate monsters: it chooses to look them in the face, to try to understand them with the heart. For it is in this lucid confrontation that perhaps an escape from the impasse of our excesses emerges. To look at the inevitable, to experience it together, is also to learn to better inhabit the present, to grasp its fragile intensity […] And perhaps in the very heart of darkness, where everything wavers, a light persists, fragile, stubborn, essential.”
Presentation of the shows
Seaside (June 16, 17 & 18 at 9 p.m. at the Cimiez Arenas)
A mother goes away for a few days with her two children to “see the sea”. But behind this ordinary journey lies a profound distress that leads to tragedy. Adapted from Véronique Olmi’s novel, the production is directed by Muriel Mayette‑Holtz and performed by Élise Clary, alone on stage. An intimate, poignant tale that grabs you.
The Suppliants (June 23 & 24 at 9 p.m. at the Cimiez Arenas)
Fifty young women flee a forced marriage and seek refuge in a city that hesitates to welcome them. Inspired by Aeschylus, this version by Charles Tordjman blends actors on stage with a filmed chorus. A production that speaks of exile, courage and humanity, with very current force.
Berenice (June 26 & 27 at 9 p.m. at the Cimiez Arenas)
Titus loves Berenice, but becoming emperor forces him to give her up. Racine tells of an impossible love, full of restraint and emotion. Robin Renucci directs this classical tragedy with sobriety, allowing full space for the beauty of the text and the actors’ performances.
Mythical! (June 27 at 10 a.m. & 6 p.m. at the Nice-Cimiez Archaeology Museum)
A family show that revisits the great stories of Greek mythology: Theseus, Ariadne, the Minotaur… With humor and energy, Thierry Vincent (text and direction) and his actors bring the gods and heroes to life beneath the olive trees of Cimiez. Playful, funny and perfect for discovering myths in a different way.
A Windless Day [An Oresteia] (July 1 & 2 at 9 p.m. at the Cimiez Arenas)
This modern rereading of Aeschylus’s The Oresteia revisits the sacrifice of Iphigenia and the violence that ensues. The text by Milène Tournier and the direction by Céleste Germe offer a sensitive and visual version, centered on female voices and the question of justice. A powerful and contemporary production.
Between myths, passions and human dramas, this 2026 edition promises to make Cimiez vibrate to the rhythm of the great voices of theatre.
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