“I don’t feel stressed at all,” Christine Morency says surprisingly on the eve of the Montreal media premiere of her first solo, Grace. “I know that a show is never ready,” she explains. There will always be gags that will be removed and others that will be added. There are still corrections to be made, improvements that will come over time, but I stay focused and I let go. This show is the result of a year of work and I am proud to present it as it is. I find it very good. And the reaction of the public goes in this direction. It reassures me a lot. »
If someone had told me, in 2017, when I took part in a comedy cabaret for the first time, when I was a psychosocial worker with people experiencing homelessness at the Old Brewery Mission, that I was going, in 2022, to have my own one-woman-show and that the tickets were going to sell so well, I would never have taken it seriously.
Over the past five years, despite the pandemic and without going through the National School of Humor, Christine Morency has carved out a special place for herself in the hearts of people. There have been Morency (Christine. Not François.)a preliminary version of his current show, but also of the first parts and galas, without forgetting remarkable appearances on television (Rousseau’s show, The open Mic of…, good evening, Big Brother celebrities. Managers stage,The game master) and on the radio (Véronique and the Fantastics and Full noon).
“It’s hard to believe,” admits the 36-year-old comedian. If someone had told me, in 2017, when I took part in a comedy cabaret for the first time, when I was a psychosocial worker with people experiencing homelessness at the Old Brewery Mission, that I was going, in 2022, to have my own one-woman-show and that the tickets were going to sell so well, I would never have taken it seriously. In May, six months after the start of the run-in, 25,000 tickets had found takers. Today, we are most likely around double that. “I don’t really have an explanation, recognizes Morency, but I realize how lucky I am to do the job I’ve always dreamed of doing. »
The audience is everything
Without turning his back on television and radio, the comedian does not hide his joy at finding the boards: “On stage, I am free, free, free. I’m nowhere happier than here. I have often said it, but for me, the public is everything. I thrive on laughter, discussion and feedback. A theater is where the magic happens. When I step on stage, I feel like I’m with family. If people liked the not barred cousin they saw on TV, or heard on the radio, they will certainly like the one I’m performing, which is to say the same one. On stage, I am Christine! It’s a boosted version of me, but it’s still me. I would never say something on stage that I wouldn’t be able to say in everyday life. In fact, this character story, which some people claim, I don’t believe in it at all. »
This endearing woman, overflowing with charisma, she is also at the heart of Christine Morency. Without filter, a documentary TV series broadcast on channel Z. “I think it’s good, don’t hesitate to express the comedian. There are times when I am vulnerable, others when I have a lot of fun, passages when I have fears, still others when I suffer from loneliness. I’m not shy to show who I am, to let my flaws and my qualities, my strengths and my weaknesses appear. I feel confident with the team. I also have to admit that I have a penchant for behind-the-scenes documentaries. I loved the one dedicated to Jennifer Lopez on Netflix. My first solo is my own Super Bowl, and I find it interesting to show people how far I’ve come. »
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Combining self-mockery and denunciation, Christine Morency has made fatphobia her favorite subject: “I talk about it in several ways throughout the show, in addition to devoting an issue just to that, but despite everything I have the feeling for not having gone around the question. It’s a primer for this show that serves as a presentation, but I know that if there’s a sequel, I’m going to have to come back to it and go further. For the moment, I am aware that my mere existence in the media sphere, with the appearance that I have, shocks many, who do not hesitate to communicate it to me. »
It will certainly be a question of sex and seduction, but the comedian also allows himself to arouse laughter by addressing more serious subjects: “I am talking in particular about my godson, Loïc, who lives with autism spectrum disorder. I don’t laugh at him, I don’t laugh at his condition, I laugh at the funny situations he creates. I think you can laugh at anything, but you have to do it the right way, staying away from meanness. You can’t do everything under the guise of black humor. For the joke to hit its target, it is necessary to have a relationship with the person or the subject, to understand everything that is around. You have to love the other to laugh at him without ease, just as you have to love yourself to be able to laugh at yourself. »