Culture. Thomas Joly, Delphine Depardieu, Paul Mirabel... Who are the big winners of the 2025 Molières?
The theater world gathered Monday evening at the Folies Bergère in Paris for the 36th Nuit des Molières, in a ceremony where budget cuts were denounced. While Thomas Joly, Delphine Depardieu, Paul Mirabel, and Vassili Schneider triumphed, the two Alsatians Estelle Meyer and Caroline Guiela Nguyen left empty-handed.
Eric Ruf and Marina Hands for The Satin Slipper, a five-time award-winning play. Photo Sipa/Romuald Meigneux
The 36th Nuit des Molières on Monday evening crowned Thomas Jolly and his Olympic ceremonies, awarded a shower of prizes to two shows, The Satin Slipper and Coal in the Veins , and called on the sector to "resist" in the face of "budget cuts" in culture.
Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the ceremonies for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, received the Molière d'honneur for this edition, which he dedicated to live performance as a "tool" for "building society."
“Resisting” budget cuts"Let us be ready to fight, but above all, as these ceremonies have shown, to mend, mend ourselves!" he declared, moved, in front of the world of public and private theatre gathered at the Folies Bergère in Paris, who gave him a standing ovation.
The ceremony, broadcast on a delayed basis on France 2, was presented by Caroline Vigneaux: the comedian created a surprise, appearing first in a white dress, Phrygian cap on her head, raised fist and... one bare breast, an allegory of the painting "Liberty Leading the People" by Eugène Delacroix.
To the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati , sitting in the front rows, she called out, to the tune of the song by France Gal l: "resist", "fight", "resist, take the live performance as a model", "always there" despite "the budget cuts".
"The solution is more Char, more René Char," or "Less war, more Molière," she declared. "Theater is incredibly important," especially in a time of "fake news." It's "a societal choice," Eric Ruf, head of the Comédie-Française, also defended.
The five-time award-winning Satin SlipperIn terms of awards, this 36th edition has awarded five times to Paul Claudel's epic play Le Soulier de satin , directed by Eric Ruf, notably with the Molière du Théâtre public, for best director in a public theatre show, for actress in a public theatre show (Marina Hands) and for actor in a supporting role (Laurent Stocker).
Coal in the Veins , by and directed by Jean-Philippe Daguerre, which tells the story of the black faces in the mining areas of Pas-de-Calais at the end of the 1950s, also received five statuettes: Molière for private theatre, for directing in a private theatre show, for actress in a supporting role (Raphaëlle Cambray), for female revelation (Juliette Béhar).
For comedy, Paul Mirabel, with his show "Par amour," won the prize. The Molière for musical performance was awarded to the troupe of the musical Les Misérables, recreated in French at the Théâtre du Châtelet and soon to be on tour. Two of his hits were also performed on stage.
Delphine Depardieu won the Molière for Best Actress in Private Theatre for her portrayal of the Marquise de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons . Young actor Vassili Schneider won the Molière for Best Actor in a Drama for his adaptation of Panayotis Pascot's book Next Time You Bite the Dust .
No reward for the two Alsatians
The Molières ceremony did not smile on the two Alsatian artists in the running this year .
Estelle Meyer, originally from Blienschwiller, was nominated in two categories: Solo Performer for "Nick the Fate, Path(s) in the Shape of a Woman" and Actress in a Private Theater Performance for "The Extraordinary Destiny of Sarah Bernhardt." The trophies ultimately went to Christine Murillo (Pauline & Carton) and Delphine Depardieu (Dangerous Liaisons).
Caroline Guiela Nguyen, director of the Théâtre National de Strasbourg, was present with "Lacrima" in three categories: living French-speaking author, director of a public theater performance, and public theater play. Here again, the awards went respectively to Jean-Philippe Daguerre (Coal in the Veins), Éric Ruf (The Satin Slipper), and Éric Ruf's The Satin Slipper for best public theater play.
The CGT spectacle union is invited to the ceremony
On behalf of the CGT entertainment union, an actor denounced the "catastrophic situation for culture," inviting the audience to "stand up" in support, a gesture followed by the vast majority of those present, with the exception of the minister.
In a video published in the afternoon, the latter had praised the "unique model in the world" of French live performance, assuring of her "unfailing" "commitment" to ensuring that "the budget of the Ministry of Culture dedicated to artistic creation for 2025 is fully preserved."
These comments came as his ministry's reserve funds were cut by two-thirds by a decree on Saturday, as part of the budgetary efforts demanded of the entire government.
Jean-Marc Dumontet, president of the Académie des Molières, was booed by some members of the audience after a speech in which he said he "did not identify" with the figures put forward by the CGT spectacle union and wanted to "bring the minister on board" to defend private and public theater "together." These boos were cut off by France Télévisions, on the grounds that the speech, like others, was "too long."
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