Love at first sight in front of the TV. Discovering Nana Mouskouri in a variety show, Snowy is upset. We are in 1984, he is still only a child, and for him, everything has already been decided: when he grows up, he will be this Greek singer with brown hair and thick-rimmed glasses. A crazy dream that destiny chooses to take seriously. Once an adult, Snowy does not transform into his idol, but he joins his close circle, who becomes his friend.
This unusual story is that of David Lelait-Helo. He told it in the novel When I grow up, I will be Nana Mouskouri published in 2016 and whose theater adaptation is performed on Mondays and Tuesdays at Studio Hébertot (Paris 17th) until November 7.
Tender and funny
“The book was recommended to me a few years ago. I found it fabulous. I called Virginie Lemoine to ask her opinion. She loved it and she offered to sign the adaptation and direct me,” summarizes Didier Constant, who performs the monologue on stage. Much more than a fan’s testimony, the text, tender and funny, is a story of emancipation, the journey of a man who took responsibility without listening to the angry people.
“What is extraordinary is that such a unique story touches everyone,” continues the actor. Each viewer finds himself there, for example in the relationship with the grandmother or in the way in which we can construct ourselves by identifying with a personality. And then, it reminds us that we must not stop ourselves from dreaming. »
Nana Mouskouri was “upset”
For David Lelait-Helo, things have come full circle: Nana Mouskouri attended one of the performances in October. “She was very moved by the book,” relates the author. I’ve said for a long time that I wanted to tell the story of our relationship. When she had health problems, my husband told me it was time I started. I wrote it out of a sense of urgency and when she read it, once she had recovered, she was devastated. She has a sacred outlook on her career. For her, a singer, it’s not just anything, it’s a mission. What touches her a lot is that a boy had a sort of mimicry with her but that he did not remain a fan, that he found his way, carved out his path in her initial adoration. »
“Playing in front of her was intimidating,” confides Didier Constant. But she was excited, immersed in the story that she knew. » The adventure is not quite over. In a few days, David, Didier and Nana Mouskouri will leave for Greece, the singer’s native country, where the play was adapted. The child discovering the artist in front of his television in the mid-1980s would perhaps not have dared to dream of it.