“It’s a promise, this year we’re going to be short,” sings Alexis Michalik who arrives on the stage of the Paris theater walking at a brisk pace, surrounded by his little troupe concocted for the occasion to the music of Thierry Boulanger. , the conductor of the Producers. The master of ceremonies immediately set the playful tone of this 34th ceremony. “Above all, it must last less than two hours, we will make it shorter than the Caesars. In the theater, it’s not like in the cinema, you can’t start the take twice.
The author, actor and director warned the winners that music would interrupt their thanks if they exceeded the so-called politeness limit. Marie Gillain and Alex Vizorek awarded the Molière of revelations: Lison Pennec, the cousin of Glenn Gould in Glenn, the birth of a prodigy by Yvan Calbérac and Thomas Gendronneau who plays the title role.
The Molière for best actor in the private theater went to Thierry Lopez for his performance in Forget me by Matthew Saeger. He greeted his partner Marie-Julie Baup (who was rewarded shortly after).
On the public theater side, it was awarded to Christian Hecq for his role as Monsieur Jourdain in Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Molière at the Comédie-Française. With his partner on stage and in the city Valérie Lesort, for the same play, he also received that of the staging of the public theater and finally that of the best show. “You boss!” said Éric Ruf, the general administrator of Molière’s house.
“No, Blanche Gardin was not available!” Launched Marina Rollman, before awarding the Molière for humor to Laura Felpin. The 30-year-old shared her prize with Florence Foresti, the one she added who made her want to do this job. Their eldest, Pierre Richard was applauded for a long time when he entered the set to award the Molière for the only one on stage to Sylvie Testud for Everyone knew, by Valérie Bacot. “Valérie, this is for you!” said the blonde actress. “I’m done?” asked the Tall Blond in the black shoe.
“We’re on the right end, applaud you!”, Recommended Alexis Michalik, eager not to exceed two hours, the time he had set himself to make this evening less boring than usual. But the program was broadcast about forty minutes late. Thus, the viewer did not see Michel Fau leave empty-handed and dissatisfied, nor his rant against the two women trade unionists mobilized against the pension reform that Alexis Michalik invited to come on the set. Fau’s exit, which you can hear if you strain your ears a little, was covered almost instantly by applause in support of union demands, coming from the orchestra like baskets.
Arrested, the Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak came out of her silence. Seated near Jean-Marc Dumontet, president of the Molières, she grabbed a microphone which was, strangely providential, within reach and replied, with fairly well-contained anger, that no government had ever defended culture so much, that aid had been substantial during the pandemic. She added that she had several times proposed three meetings to the trade union organizations which were each time postponed by these same organizations. “But my door remains open,” she concluded to applause just as loud as those who had punctuated the intervention of the CGT activists. A twist that will surely count at the time of the next redesign…
Just after the minister spoke, a “Vive Macron” rang out from the spans. As the debates began to heat up, Alexis Michalik had to show a certain firmness to take the evening in hand. This somewhat muddled end to the sequence was not kept during the editing.
The ceremony therefore took its course. A brilliant idea, by and with Sébastien Castro, won the Molière for comedy. Thomas Jolly, future artistic director of the 2024 Olympic Games, awarded the Molière for best private theater direction to Marie-Julie Baup and Thierry Lopez for Oublie-moi. Before receiving two in turn for Starmania (musical show and visual and sound creation). His thanks went to Luc Plamondon present on stage but diminished and to Michel Berger.
The Oublie-moi show triumphed, with a fourth prize for best private theater show (at the Saint-Martin theater until the end of June then at La Bruyère).
Irina Brook paid tribute to “her father and to the God of the theater”, Peter Brook, who passed away in July 2022. “He said that the theater was a story of being together.” Aïda Asgharzadeh thanked her parents after receiving the Molière for the French-speaking piece for The Persian Dolls, a show released at the last Avignon Off festival, just like Forget me, Glenn and Je ne cours pas, je vole. “We must support the current Iranian revolution,” said Aïda Asgharzadeh alongside comedian Kyan Khojandi.
Sara Giraudeau was the winner of the best actress for the public theater with Le Syndrome de l’oiseau by Pierre Tré-Hardy, inspired by the Natacha Kampush affair. Tears in her eyes, the actress greeted, without naming him, her father Bernard Giraudeau and her mother, Anny Duperey, very moved.
Alexis Michalik practically won his bet, he embellished the evening with short humorous films, interventions by comedians (Florent Peyre, Nicole Ferroni, …), song – Need for love interpreted and danced by the Drag troupe Race, from an excerpt from the musical Black Legends.
“We did not say, no politics”, he recalled after the intervention Jean-Marc Dumontet who, leaving his role as president of the Molières to endorse the costume of Minister of Culture bis, chose to defend the government and plead for national harmony, enjoining “everyone not to remain on their postures”. But the important thing was elsewhere this evening: the ceremony rewarded excellent shows and the theater was, on this Nuit des Molières, a party.
