In Pau, a musical about the life and the most beautiful songs of Serge Gainsbourg

The cinema had already taken hold of the life and work of Serge Gainsbourg (Gainsbourg, heroic life by Joann Sfar with Eric Elmosnino released in 2010) but this is the first time that the “man with the head of cabbage” is at the heart of a musical. Title These little thingsthis show, written and directed by Frédéric Fuertes with the students of the Art Scène Théâtre, is presented at the Saint Louis Theater in Pau on Saturday March 5, almost 31 years to the day after the artist’s death on March 2, 1991.

“It is a fiction, with a story freely adapted”, points out Frédéric Fuentes. We find characters like Régine (for whom Gainsbourg wrote several titles, the most famous of which is The Little Papers), Johnny Halliday, Eddie Mitchell. “Not all of them were close to Gainsbourg but they were serious in his story. We put names to stick to that time but there is no resemblance to real life”.

The story: Serge was a young singer in the early 60s. In Régine’s famous nightclub, he met artists ready to do anything to exist. Their thirst for success is more important than their creation, unlike Serge, who in wanting to save what drives him, lets himself be drawn into the whirlwind of excesses.

Performed by students from the adult musical comedy workshop Art Scène Théâtre in Pau (a theater school founded in 2006), These little things takes up the emblematic songs of Gainsbourg in a very pop universe, typical of the 60s. “I wanted a fairly colorful show that reflects the 60s, those years of carelessness, of joy, of “bam”, of “chiboum” as in his song (Comic strip, editor’s note)“, explains Frédéric Fuentes.

The director – who has already revisited the life and songs of Claude François, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Dalida, Balavoine – also highlights the flaws and heartbreaks of the artist. “There are pretty songs that bring joy, but there is also a man who is broken by his profession, by the media. His genius is somewhat obscured in favor of a somewhat deleterious image. But what has survived, it’s his side as a lyricist, songwriter, his genius side.”

It is Luc Bousquet who embodies Serge Gainsbourg. A very stimulating challenge as the character was so extraordinary.“He had his own gestures that let his character shine through. It’s very inspiring to try to reproduce certain things on stage”.

“These little nothings” – musical to the tunes of Serge Gainsbourg . March 5 at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at the Saint Louis Theater – Rue Saint-Louis in Pau.
Full price: €15 / Reduced price: €12 / Group price 12€