Nice Premium: The excerpt from your show that you chose for this closing night describes an Aryan woman who thinks she is the center of the universe. It’s funny, but there were some awkward moments at the beginning of this sketch. Why did you write it?
Marianne Sergent: Starting this excerpt with the sketch of “the expanding universe” is a bit scary. But during my show, people have seen the previous sketches and know that it’s not serious. Anyway, it’s normal for there to be unease. If there wasn’t, it would be unhealthy. It’s a summary of everything I have heard being said, like “the people from Auvergne are like this, the Italians are like that, the Arabs are like this, the Jews are like that.”
I find it generally disgusting, and the aim of this sketch is to show that the only person worth anything is “me.” The moral of all this is to show that if you criticize everyone, you end up alone. I do the fascist salute at the end because it seems to me that the deep approach of Hitler and people who share his ideology are unhappy, pitiful people since, in the end, they are all alone.
NP: This sketch was only a part of the show. What topics do you cover?
M.S: I always address denunciations. I have always been interested in the habits of our fellow humans because I think we could all live harmoniously if we were all a little more tolerant and intelligent. My thing is denunciation and I enjoy it (laughs).
NP: You occasionally appear on Europe 1 during Laurent Ruquier’s show “On va s’gêner,” but you named your show “Dits et interdits ou 30 ans de carrière sans passer chez Drucker.” What is your relationship with the media?
M.S: I have always considered that the media should be doing an informative job… something they do not do. They build up people in power among those we see on television. Fortunately, there are some very good ones, but there are also some very bad ones. It’s the subjects that don’t hold up. But I wouldn’t see the sketch “the expanding universe” being aired in the media (smiles).
By the way, my sketch “a recipe for a fellatio” was banned (which everyone asks for now).
At the time, it was banned. When I did a live show at Drucker’s, they banned it. I did it anyway.
People think it’s because of the fellatio, but it was more because of the ban I transgressed. Then those people ban you from all the media.
Laurent Ruquier is something else [Marianne Sergent is a columnist in one of his shows on Europe 1 – ed. note]. He is an honest man and, moreover, a friend. If you see me on TV, you are sure that it’s a friend, like Jean-Luc Reichmann.
What I want to say to young people is that television will not bring them everything. They will struggle more, they won’t become very rich, but at least they will be able to make a living, say what they feel, and be useful. For me, going on stage for pure narcissism is disgusting. Concerning myself, I will always go on stage to pass on a message; it’s my modesty, my ideology, and my theme is freedom. It’s not original, but that’s how it is (laughs).
NP: The people who accompanied you tonight and during this Boeuf Théâtre are also friends?
M.S: Yes! Chraz for years, Bob Solo I didn’t know, but I find him very, very nice. There’s a sense of camaraderie among people who have done café-theater. We are very supportive. This same solidarity is a fundamental notion of our society and can push things forward.
NP: 30 years of shows, today the Boeuf Théâtre, and tomorrow?
M.S: I don’t know, it will depend on how long it lasts. I don’t see myself doing anything else anyway, and I think there is still a lot of work to be done humanly, politically, etc. I am happy when I see that themes from 30 years ago are returning and are now relevant. There are things to do, and it is our job, for comedians and others. An artist’s job is to give hope, movement, and show that it’s possible.
