Yannick Jaulin

Yannick Jaulin (born (1958-07-30)July 30, 1958) is a French storyteller, actor, and playwright. He was born in Aubigny, Vendée, France. He is also described as a diseur (a speaker-performer in the oral tradition), singer, and humorist.^[1][2]

Yannick Jaulin
Born	(1958-07-30) July 30, 1958 (age 67) Aubigny, Vendée, France
Occupation(s)	Actor, storyteller
Known for	Oral literature, contemporary storytelling in France
Awards	Chevalier of Arts and Letters (2005); Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (2013)

Biography

Childhood influenced by Poitevin-Saintongeais

Yannick Jaulin is originally from the Vendée department in western France. From an early age, he was immersed in parlanjhe, also known as Poitevin-Saintongeais, a Gallo-Romance language (similar to Gallo and Picard), often referred to colloquially as a patois.

The son of farmers, Jaulin grew up in a rural environment where Poitevin was his first language; he only learned French upon starting school. This regional tongue would later become one of the primary inspirations for his work.

My grandfather bowed his cap all his life to his master – a tattered, degenerate nobleman. As a teenager, I was just a belou from the countryside, with my flared pants and my Flandria, completely uncritical. People used to say, "C'est d'même qu'ol aet" – that's just how it is.

— reported by Stéphane Davet^[3]

Involvement with the Order of the Solar Temple

In his solo performance Terrien, which he described as the story of a man who loves stories so much that he gets caught by one of them. A story of blindness. And of revelation, Jaulin addresses his time as a member of the Order of the Solar Temple, a cult that he and his partner left about a year before the mass suicides occurred.^[2] He spoke publicly about this period of his life in an episode of the Canal+ investigative program Spécial Investigation broadcast in December 2012.

In 2022, Jaulin revisited his years in the cult as a former follower in the documentary series La Secte.^[4] He also appeared on the morning program of France Inter, interviewed by Sonia Devillers.^[5]

Actor

• Tartuffe ou l’Hypocrite, by Molière, directed by Matthieu Roy (2022)
• Forests, by Wajdi Mouawad (2006)
• Louise-Michel, directed by Gustave Kervern and Benoît Delépine (2008)
• La Légende des seigneurs assassins, directed by Thierry Mauvignier (2021)
• La Légende de Thierry Mauvignier, directed by Dylan Besseau^[6][7]

Publications

Books

• J’ai pas fermé l’œil de la nuit
• Il était une fois J'ai pas fermé l'œil de la nuit (co-authored with Titus)
• La Légende de Pougne-Hérisson, le Nombril du Monde (co-authored with Titus)
• Jaulin raconte Pougne-Hérisson (including an interview with Nathael Moreau)
• Terrien (play text, including interviews with Wajdi Mouawad)
• Le Dodo (Éditions Paradox)
• Le Voyage à pas d’âne (Éditions Geste Paysanne; photographs by Eddy Rivière)
• Causer d’Amour
• Ma langue maternelle va mourir et j’ai du mal à vous parler d'Amour
• Manuel de résistance en Langue rare (Saint Rock project)

Performances / Author

• Les Oisives (2016), performed by Angélique Clairand and Valérie Puech
• La bête à deux dos ou le coaching amoureux (2007), written and performed by Angélique Clairand
• Chemin de la Belle étoile (2009), created by Sébastien Bertrand

Solo creations

• Causer d’Amour (November 2018)
• Ma langue maternelle va mourir et j'ai du mal à vous parler d'amour (January 2018)
• Comme vider la mer avec une cuiller (2015)
• Conteur ? Conteur (2012)
• Le Dodo (2010)
• Merlicoquet et autres contes de randonnée (2009)
• Terrien (2007)
• Menteur (2003)
• J'ai pas fermé l'œil de la nuit (2000)
• Jaulin en scène (2000)
• Rien que du beau Monde (1996)
• La vie des Roses (1994)
• Pougne-Hérisson (1991)
• Géants (1989)
• Château-Fromage (1987)
• Gargantua (1987)
• Feux Foets (1987)
• Tradition du goût (1985)
• La mogette d’or (1985)
• La montagne verte (with Gérard Potier) (1984)
• La beroète à Balthazar (1984)

Honours and awards

• Nominated for the 2020 Molière Award for Solo Performer (Ma langue maternelle va mourir et j’ai du mal à vous parler d’amour)
• Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (2005)^[8]
• Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (14 July 2013): awarded by the Ministry of Culture^[9][10]
• Grand National Prize for Cultural Innovation (1999), awarded by Culture Minister Catherine Trautmann, for his work in rural cultural development
• Tasse d'or and Best Performance Awards at the Cannes Performance Festival (1990 and 2001)^[11]
• Unanimously elected "Deux‑Sévrien of the Year" (1995)^[12]