1957-2017: 60 Years In Existence

by Birgitt McDonagh-Nordbrink

Once every four years, Monaco hosts the World Festival of Amateur Theatre. This is a major ten-day event in Monaco, featuring the best amateur companies in the world.

Before appearing in Monaco, each group will have won awards in their home country, which chooses the winners to represent it in Monaco.  24 Countries took part this year and I was delighted to be hostess for the company representing Georgia (Bordering Russia and Armenia.)

Birgitt (far left) and the theatre company representing Georgia

The organisation of such an enormous event involves hundreds of people. It takes two years to complete and is run by the Monogasque artistic circle, IATA, Sociéte des Bains de Mer, the Government of Monaco, UNESCO and assisted by the Consulates of the participating countries.

The Auditorium Rainier III becomes a Mondial Village during these ten days. This is where all groups check in. Each country is individually welcomed upon arrival. Here they eat, participate in conferences and ateliers during the day and party after their performances at night. A logistic nightmare for those in charge of transport was getting people fom Mondial Village to hotels and theatres, via a fleet of people carriers, to rehearsals and performances on time.

The Salle Garnier, Theatre Princess Grace and the Théatre des Variétés were busy every evening. All performances are free and open to the public. Tickets could be booked on line, by phone or picked up directly from Mondial Village.

Monaco pulled out all the stops midway through the festival on the night of Mondial’s fabulous red and white ball, held for all participants, at the glamorous Salle des Etoiles. Cameras flashed as photos were taken of each group on the red carpet before entering. Champagne flowed, food was excellent and after live music played for those who wanted to dance the night away.

The closing night didn’t disappoint either, with a champagne buffet served on the top floor of the exclusive Monaco Yacht Club, where we danced under the stars.

The wonderful thing about Mondial was, regardless of where you came from, be it Vietnam or the US, Japan or Russia, Morocco or Mexico, everyone got on. We were like one huge family and we helped each other. It would have been a good lesson for some of today’s politicians, had they attended.

We’ll have to wait until 2022 for the next “Mondial du Theatre in Monaco, but make a note in your diaries NOW.  I couldn’t believe that so many peoplehadn’t heard of this fabulous event.

For anyone interested in theatre, it’s a gift – and it’s free.
Birgitt McDonagh-Nordbrink