Avignon may be France’s oldest arts festival, but it has a resolutely contemporary approach to the dramatic arts, with experimental performances that draw on dance, theatre and poetic traditions. We sit down with multidisciplinary artist Kubra Khademi, whose performance “From Armour to Jackets” kicks off the festival, to hear about the military detritus that became a poignant symbol of the American retreat from her native Afghanistan. Kubra talks about being forced to flee Kabul after a controversial artistic performance in 2015 and discusses how the Taliban have now left Afghans “trapped in their own country”.

Sixty years after the Évian Accords put an end to Algeria's bloody war of independence, we take a look at the role of women at that pivotal time. Professor Zahia Smail Salhi tells us how female fighters, informants and special agents were key in the National Liberation Movement and how those women were swiftly forgotten in the post-colonial landscape.