Par
Paul Lesigne
Published on
Oct. 4, 2024 at 11:30 a.m.
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A tribute to a sacred monster, Johnny Hallydaywith an excavator: this is a good way to launch the 4th edition of Lisieux Wide Open. The Lisieux Bouge association has chosen the show “Johnny, a poem” to open its festival, Friday October 4, 2024 on the Place de la République in Lisieux (Calvados).
“Much more than a singer”
“For millions of French people, Johnny was much more than a singer: a hero, a model, a father, a comedian, a philosopher, a gladiator, a travel agency, a clothing designer, an optician, an idol , a beau, a grandfather, a sex symbol, a supermarket product, a UFO, a movie actor, a Devil, a God,” list the Companies Gerard Gerard et Rhapsodies Nomades in the show presentation file:
“It’s not easy to do theater with a guy who started his shows by rappelling from a helicopter over 80,000 people. We then gave ourselves a simple, clear and sincere principle: to make a show about Johnny… which would please Johnny! »
For more than an hour, the artists Chloe Desfachelle, Alexandre Moisescot et Arnaud Mignon (at the controls of the excavator) revisit the 1,000 lives of the man people call the idol of young people.
“We are not at all in the business of imitation. We are in the theatrical evocation, not in the double! »
As for the choice of construction equipment, “I call it poetic evidence”: “We couldn’t do a show about Johnny on a black background with a stage measuring 3 by 3 meters! We needed something that sent people! »
A show that talks about childhood
This show comes from his imagination, and that of his partner, Chloé Desfachelle, during the health crisis: “We said to ourselves that people were going to need to laugh after Covid. I’ve been imitating Johnny since I was little, it makes me laugh. And it especially makes my girlfriend laugh, who told me that we had to do something with it,” says Cie Gérard Gérard member.
“Johnny, a poem” is “a bit of the fruit of our love story,” smiles the actor. He tells Johnny Hallyday through his hits, success, less inspired works, anecdotes…
“It’s a show that talks a lot about childhood. My father took me to see Johnny, it’s a childhood memory. It was after this concert that I started playing drums. I was already doing theater, and I said to myself: what an actor! I really have the image of Johnny as a kind of comedian hero. So much so that he got confused with his character quite quickly, and he held it all his life without letting go. »
The star’s childhood is also discussed: “He was abandoned when he was little, and I think that this injury explains his need for immeasurable love. »
Everyone experiences the show differently
For the artists, it is also an opportunity to show that we all have a link with the performer ofLight the fire et That I love you :
“Johnny, it’s something we all share, or even endure, it’s not necessarily a choice. »
From the star’s fan to people who are closed to his hits and/or the character, “we have a lot of feedback from people who don’t experience the show in the same way at all”, notes Alexandre Moisescot, who played it for all four corners of France.
“It’s a bit of France”
One thing is certain, Johnny Hallyday “is everywhere, and it’s a bit like France”: “It’s very special,” the artist marvels. When you talk to Italians, they don’t understand: how a guy fills stadiums for 50 years while he’s doing variety. Eros Ramazzoti doesn’t have a magazine dedicated to him! It’s really very French. » And it was well worth the reinforcement of an excavator to tell it.
Friday October 4 at 7 p.m. on Place de la République in Lisieux. Free. Find the complete festival program on the Leisure pages.
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