He was supposed to perform in the United States last year, starring in his one-man show Un soir de gala. But scheduling conflicts prevented him from doing so. This time, however, Vincent Dedienne will take to the stage in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Palo Alto between March 23 and April 3. With Il ne m’est jamais rien arrivé (“Nothing Has Ever Happened to Me”), he adapts the diary of actor and playwright Jean-Luc Lagarce, a genius who was unrecognized during his lifetime, but who entered the pantheon of French literature thanks to works such as Juste la fin du monde (“It’s Only the End of the World”), Derniers remords avant l’oubli (“Last Remorse Before Oblivion”) and Nous, les héros (“We, the Heroes”). “When I was offered the chance to perform in the United States, I immediately wanted to come. For me, it’s an abstract country, a country of cinema, books, and music, which you feel you already know a little without having been there. Like Peter Pan, I can’t wait to discover this imaginary country,” says Vincent Dedienne.
A ‘Very Funny’ Show with Bititing Humor
On stage, we see him dressed in black leather pants, “designed by Agnès B,” he specifies. Illustrator Irène Vignaud brings the writings to life through portraits of people Lagarce encountered and scenes described by the playwright. Vincent Dedienne brings the playwright back to life on stage, transporting the audience to the era of AIDS, the disease that would ultimately claim the author’s life in 1995, at the age of 38. Despite this inevitable outcome, Vincent Dedienne assures us that the show is very funny: “Lagarce wrote his diary with the intention of being read. He addresses his reader directly, wanting to make them laugh, even in the throes of death, with punchlines and a rather caustic, sometimes dark and cynical sense of humor. In life, he loved comedy and was a fan of Jacqueline Maillan.”
According to Dedienne, the success of this adaptation of Lagarce’s play can also be explained by the accessibility of the text. Initially, the Théâtre de l’Atelier in Paris had offered him the chance to perform Juste la fin du monde (“It’s Only the End of the World”), Jean-Luc Lagarce’s best-known and most frequently performed play, adapted for cinema by Xavier Dolan in 2014 with Gaspard Ulliel in the lead role. Vincent Dedienne suggested adding the adaptation of Lagarce’s diary, “a text [he] had been dreaming of for a long time,” and whose success on stage surpassed that of Juste la fin du monde. “This diary could be anyone’s; you don’t need any references or to have researched Lagarce’s life or work. He talks about his daily life with sincerity. There is no literature, it is the real life of a man living through an era.”
Dedienne Also Brings His Concert Piece to NY
From the 1,600 pages of the diary written between 1977 and 1995, Vincent Dedienne chose his favorite moments to interpret on stage. “I took a gamble that if I liked these passages, the audience would too,” he says. “I made a ‘best of’ compilation of the moments that made me laugh, as well as the most tragic ones. There is a lot of talk about loneliness, sex, family, and illness. Some of these excerpts seem strangely prescient and relevant today: Lagarce spoke of the rise of extremism and terrorism, and predicted at the age of 20 that he would die of a long illness…”
In New York, Vincent Dedienne will also take to the stage as a singer at the Florence Gould Theater. Following the triumph of his one-man show Un soir de gala, which earned him the Molière Award for comedy in 2022, he asked his writer and composer friends if they could take his sketches and turn them into songs. Alex Beaupain, Jeanne Cherhal, Ben Mazué, Albin de la Simone, Florent Marchet, Vincent Delerm, and many others answered the call, and the album Un lendemain soir de gala was released in October 2025. “Based on this album, I created a new show that is both a concert and a sketch show. I’ll only be performing it in New York this time, but I’m finding my feet and I’ll be back!”
Un lendemain soir de gala (concert) – Monday, March 23 at 7:30 pm, Florence Gould Theater, L’Alliance New York, 55 East 59th Street, New York. Tickets.
Il ne m’est jamais rien arrivé (play)
- Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 pm. Lycée français de New York, 505 E 75th St. Tickets.
- Friday, March 27 at 8 pm. Lycée français de Los Angeles. Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz, 10361 West Pico Boulevard, LA. Tickets.
- Tuesday, March 31 at 8 pm, presented by French Talent USA. Cubberley Theatre, 4120 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Tickets.
- Friday, April 3 at 7:30 pm, presented by the Théâtre du Lycée français. Théâtre Erick Moreau, 1201 Ortega Street, SF. Tickets.
This article was originally published in French on French Morning. It appears here in translation.
