The stand-up, these shows where comedians speak directly to the public, have sold out for a few years in Quebec.
At the Terminal Comédie Club, one of the bars in downtown Montreal that offers comedy shows, it’s not easy to get a place for stand-up parties. The 80 seats are often reserved in advance. As a result, the comedy club added new slots this week.
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When the stand-up room opened four years ago, there weren’t as many people, different audiences, remembers Sara Couturier, who is in charge of programming. “It was a little more underground, people didn’t know too much but at the same time, there were always lots of people. It was a bit of word-of-mouth. But indeed, there are a lot of takes over with the National School of Humor. Each year, there are new vintages.” The National School of Humor has been based in Montreal for more than 30 years.
This increase in interest in stand-ups cannot be explained solely by Quebec humor. According to Alphé Gagné, comedian for more than twenty years in Quebec, it is social networks that help develop the practice.
“I will say that humor has become more democratic… At the beginning of 2000, it was either you were a megastar or you were poor. There was no middle class of humor.”
Alphé Gagné, Quebec comedianat franceinfo
“NOW, continues the comedian, with all the platforms, whether it’s podcasting, whether it’s the Terminal Comédie Club… There are more and more small venues that offer a diversified formula, not too expensive tickets, a hundred people. I think the public likes that closeness.”
“We now have dozens and dozens of comedians in Quebec, instead of having just eight who can tour, earn a living with that,” rejoices Sara Couturier. There may also be a Montreal effect because the city has hosted the biggest comedy festival in the world, Just for Laughs, every summer for thirty years.