Seuls en Scène, Princeton French Theater Festival 2025

Seuls en Scène brings celebrated French actors and directors, as well as promising early-career artists, to Princeton University and the local community to present their work, introducing American audiences to dynamic and engaging French theater. We are thrilled to bring this new edition of the festival in partnership with Festival d’Avignon and Festival d’Automne in Paris.

Festival Runs September 12-21, 2025

For the 14th edition of the annual Seuls en Scène, join us for 10 days of performances of recent works by renowned French artists including Marion Siéfert, Micha Lescot, Élios Noël, Cédric Eeckhout, and Stanislas Roquette, among others.

Seuls en Scène, Princeton French Theater Festival, has welcomed across time a long list of acclaimed French and Francophone theater artists who have often made their North American debut at the festival.

The Seuls en Scène Festival is curated by Florent Masse.

Video Trailer


Video Transcript

Video Transcript: 2025 Seuls en Scène, Princeton French Theater Festival

Florent Masse:

[Florent Masse is a Professor of the Practice in French & Italian at Princeton University, and organizer of Seuls en Scène.] Welcome to the Princeton French Theater Festival Seuls en Scène 14th annual edition.

[performer sings loudly]

Six plays, one movie screening, conversations, and a special event celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Theatrical Editions Actes Sud-Papiers.

Performer 1:

[speaks in French in a clip from a performance] J’ai fait comme les saumons. [I did like the salmons.]

Florent Masse:

All performances are in French but a good majority of them feature English supertitles.

Bonne festival a tout et tous! [Have a great festival everyone!]

Top!

Performer 2:

(singing)
I love you!

Festival Tickets

Held in various venues on the Princeton University campus, all performances will be free with advance tickets required. No tickets are required for the conversation events.

Reserve tickets for performances through University Ticketing

Reach University Ticketing by email at tixhelp@princeton.edu or by phone at 609-258-9220.

Reserve tickets for the film screening through Eventbrite

 

Accessibility

Some of the performances will have translations available in English via supertitles. If you need other access accommodations, please contact the Lewis Center at 609-258-5262 or email LewisCenter@princeton.edu for assistance at least one week in advance of the event date.

View accessibility details for parking, routes, and venues

Festival Announcement & Program

Read the festival announcement

Review the digital program for the Festival

Sponsorship

The French Theater Festival is sponsored by Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts, L’Avant-Scène, Department of French and Italian, The Office of the Provost, Humanities Council, Princeton Institute for International and Regional Study (PIIRS), European Politics and Society Program (EPS), Department of Comparative Literature, Department of German, Department of Music, University Services, Center of Excellence, and Rockefeller College. International sponsors include Festival d’Avignon, Festival d’Automne in Paris, Cultural Services of the French Embassy – Villa Albertine, Albertine Foundation, the Education Department of the French Embassy, and Institut français.

Seuls en Scène 2025 Festival Schedule

The 2025 French Theater Festival runs September 12-21, 2025.

East Pyne Room 010 · Presented by: L’Avant-Scène

French actors Élios Noël and Cédric Eeckhout share their experience working in the 2010’s and 2020’s with major figures in French and European theater such as Caroline Guiela Nguyen, Thomas Ostermeier, and David Geselson. Conversation in French. Open to the public; no tickets required.

Hearst Dance Theater, Lewis Arts complex · Presented by: L’Avant-Scène

Marion Siéfert returns to Seuls en Scène bringing another ferocious performance. Collaborating again with actress Helena de Laurens, Siéfert crafts a wild investigation into the fantasies and norms of adolescence and womanhood, challenging de Laurens to embody the tortures, triumphs and terrors of teenage girlhood. Performed in French with English supertitles. Free tickets required.

Wallace Theater, Lewis Arts complex · Presented by: L’Avant-Scène

Celebrated French actor Micha Lescot comes to Seuls en Scène for the first time, accompanied by musicians, and presents a musical reading performance of Franz Kafka’s masterpiece "La Métamorphose." Performed in French with English supertitles. Free tickets required.

James Stewart Film Theater, 185 Nassau St. · Presented by: L’Avant-Scène

Join us for a screening of "Les Amandiers" by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi followed by a Q&A with Micha Lescot nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the French Academy Awards (2023) for his role as Pierre Romans. In French with English subtitles. Free tickets required; reserve tickets through Eventbrite.

Wallace Theater, Lewis Arts complex · Presented by: L’Avant-Scène

Come discover a hit of the 2021 fringe Avignon Festival! When Stanislas Roquette discovers at the age of 15 that he has insulin-dependent diabetes, his carefree childhood is shattered by the evidence of the disease. Formerly a cheerful boy, now he isolates himself. But his life is soon turned upside down when he meets Fleur. Performed in French with English supertitles. Free tickets required.

East Pyne Room 010 · Presented by: L’Avant-Scène

Join us for a special afternoon celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the theatrical editions Actes Sud-Papiers with a panel discussion featuring playwright-directors Caroline Guiela Nguyen and Wajdi Mouawad in conversation with Laure Adler. Conversation in French. Open to the public; no tickets required.

Chancellor Green Rotunda · Presented by: L’Avant-Scène

The writer Nina Léger and violinist Marina Chiche, both former Villa Albertine residents, team up to offer a musical reading of excerpts of Nina Léger’s latest novel: Mémoires sauvées de l’eau, a project she developed while being a Villa Albertine resident in Oroville, California. Performed in French. Free tickets required.

Chancellor Green Rotunda · Presented by: L’Avant-Scène

To conclude this year’s festival, join us for an uplifting musical poetry recital of classic and contemporary French poems prepared by Stanislas Roquette and Gilles Geenen. A group of community amateur actors, trained by Roquette and Geenen, will participate in the musical reading. Performance in French. Free tickets required.

Festival Poster

French Theater Festival 2025 Poster

Questions?

If you have any inquiries concerning the French Theater Festival, please email ftw@princeton.edu. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible. We look forward to seeing you!