At the end of the line, this Monday, May 30, Vincent Dedienne, playful, drives in the car, direction Montpellier.
It was that evening, the 88th performance of
Un soir de gala
, his second show five years after the success of his autobiographical one-man show,
If something happens
.
On a nostalgic tone, he presents on stage a gallery of endearing characters, but also cruel and stereotyped, inspired by the people around him.
He does not know it yet, but he will win this same evening and for the second time the Molière of humor.
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An award that underlines the public's attachment to this 35-year-old whimsical artist, lulled by the sketches of Muriel Robin and Pierre Palmade – his models – who distinguished himself on radio and television as a columnist (France Inter,
Daily
), but also as an actor (
La Flamme,
opposite Jonathan Cohen), to then shine in the cinema in essentially comic roles.
On the poster for
I Love Greece,
by Nafsika Guerry-Karamaounas, he plays Jean, an overworked architect, whose trip to the Cyclades with his wife, Marina (Stacy Martin), and his in-laws turns into a nightmare.
If this cinematographic parenthesis charmed the actor, it will not replace his passion for the stage.
We find him in Paris, at the Théâtre Marigny, before he resumes his tour.
On video,
I Love Greece
, the trailer
Miss Figaro. – Has your audience changed since your first show?
Vincent Dedienne.
–
I don't think so, no.
He has probably taken a little bit of old, like me, but I find in the rooms the faithful of France Inter, the retired teachers, the young dynamics who followed me in
Quotidien
, the spectators of
La Flamme
, or even children accompanied by their parents.
When did you want to perform on stage?
The day I made up my first joke.
I was so proud to have made my parents laugh that I thought this would be my life.
I have always considered laughter to be a strength, it was even a cloak of invisibility during childhood, because it masked everything: my uneasiness, the feeling of displeasure all the time... And it is still today a master key that allows you to appear comfortable, even when you are not.
By making those around you laugh, you feel like you are in good company.
Where do you find the most inspiration?
Among the people around me essentially.
When certain people annoy me, or when situations seem unfair or thankless to me, I try to understand why, and a character usually ensues.
At the moment, I particularly like playing the bourgeoise who stays at Le Pyla and abuses her housekeeper, or the old gentleman who makes photo albums of the funerals he attends.
But it also depends on the audience and their tastes.
I sometimes notice that some rooms lack self-mockery, and if a character looks too much like them, it's not going to amuse them.
That's what's great about touring: each audience has its own temperament, humor, rhythm, qualities and faults.
Each audience has its own temperament, humor, rhythm, qualities and faults.
Vincent Dedienne
Has the profession of comedian evolved a lot?
Not really, because when I started there were already a lot of us.
We are far from the time of Pierre Palmade when, by his own admission, there were five comedians, including two women.
Among the people who make me laugh today, there are the eternal ones, like him, Muriel Robin and Chantal Ladesou, but also Jérôme Commandeur, Laurent Lafitte, Laura Felpin or even Fred Blin, whom I recently discovered at the theater and which I found hilarious.
Laura Felpin, Lison Daniel, Thomas Poitevin… Do you feel part of this new clan of comedians?
No, I feel a little out of it because I'm not very showbiz and I'm always a bit lazy to spend an evening with famous people… Being still a bit of a shopaholic, I'm afraid of playing the fan and to be unmasked.
I still can't believe it when Valérie Lemercier sends me a message to come see my show, for example!
You are going to play at the Théâtre Marigny, what does the Parisian public mean to you?
This is paradoxical.
I like living in Paris less and less, but I like playing there more and more.
It's often a party on the evening of Parisian dates when I meet friends or people I've worked with, and the Parisian public is very curious and ready for any adventure.
On the other hand, what I can't stand in this city anymore is me!
I realize that I'm less stupid elsewhere, and even if I dreamed of this city for a long time, as a child and a teenager, I see that it is a bit mean and that the Covid has annoyed it even more.
I feel like the faster times go, the slower we have to slow down to avoid becoming dumb.
Your show
Un soir de gala
is turned towards the past, how nostalgic are you?
I am a sickly nostalgic.
Someone once told me that I was an old soul.
Without being backward or reactionary, I always prefer to turn to the archives rather than focus on the present or the future.
I was also interested in this mania in my show, and I realized that it was also a form of curiosity.
For example, I would have loved dining with Lino Ventura and Jean Rochefort when they were 30, just as I would have been curious to live in prehistory, to see.
As for the future, it does not interest me more than that, because I know that I will end up knowing it.
Do you think you can be nostalgic and happy?
Alain Finkielkraut would probably have a better answer than mine, but I still believe that we can live with our ghosts: those of our childhood, our adolescence, but also those of the people we loved and who have disappeared... All this little world is a colony of invisible people with whom it is necessary to live cheerfully.
When he died, Hervé Guibert, who was living in a three-way love relationship, said to his wife and the man he loved, “I will be the most delicate of ghosts for you.”
Do you like getting old?
I hate that.
I even find it grotesque and ugly to grow old.
I don't feel like I'm settling down and I only notice that I jump less high, that I run less quickly, that I sleep less well and that I worry more.
For a long time I thought my friends and I were young and invincible, but that's not true.
The only aspect in which I notice a slight improvement over time is physically.
I actually have less skin problems, but I was going so far that there is nothing spectacular to note either.
Does getting older make you interested in your biological family?
No, at least not at the moment.
Being an adopted child, my past remains an enigma, but I have no more curiosity about where I come from.
It's a parallel life that could have existed, but since it didn't happen, there's no point in looking into it.
You are starring in the film
I Love Greece
, was the cinema a dream at the start?
Not at all, and it still isn't today.
I love cinema when it comes to interesting projects, exciting encounters with generous partners, but it's not my whole life.
My real passion is performing.
If I am well accompanied, I can go anywhere and anyhow for an indefinite period
Vincent Dedienne
Unlike your character in the film, are you someone who adapts and lets go easily?
Yes, I have the impression of being a rather flexible person, and if I am well accompanied, I can go anywhere and anyhow for an indefinite period of time.
As for letting go, maybe I'm a little less successful than before.
Playing alone on stage gives me some bad reflexes and makes me become a little
control freak,
but I can become very flexible again after a few days of vacation.
What is a successful vacation for you?
It's leaving with three friends in a place without a network and surrounded by animals.
I like to be surrounded by animals, because they invite contemplation, and that's what calls inspiration to me.
In any case, I try to completely cut myself off from the means of communication.
When I see people who post photos and videos every three seconds from heavenly places to say that they are relaxed, I tell myself that they must not be that much…
Do you have an easier time living together than your character in the film?
Yes, I started to like life as a couple, but it's strange because I was single for a long time, until I was 25, and I kept the reflexes and impulses of celibacy.
I hate, for example, the feeling of a contract, and I like not always revealing what I'm going to do.
That doesn't prevent me from loving life together, and I think I'm a good lover.
A gala evening,
written by Vincent Dedienne and directed with Juliette Chaigneau.
Also with Mélanie Le Moine and Anaïs Harté.
Until July 2 at the Théâtre Marigny, in Paris, and on tour throughout France.
I Love Greece,
by Nafsika Guerry-Karamaounas, released on July 6.
