Posted at 12:09 a.m.
From the outset, let’s remember one thing. The traditional Just for Laughs galas are turnkey shows designed for television. With crowd leader at the opening; content divided into two shows per evening; blinding lights directed towards the public on the floor, and not… towards the artists on stage. However, if we accept the “television studio” convention, we can take our pleasure and appreciate the rolling fire of the performance which lasts 75 minutes flat.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
Phil Roy and Roxane Bruneau, the “new” Laurel and Hardy?
It was the first time that Roxane Bruneau hosted a comedy gala. The singer told “veteran” Phil Roy (the latter co-hosted two White Card Evenings, in 2019 and 2020) that she was very stressed: “You’re like a shrunken version in the dryer of Anik Jean”, him Roy called to put her at ease.
The duo met during the show Who can sing? They claim to have chemistry in life. However, in their opening number, their complicity was not obvious. The two hosts alluded to their sizes, the little and the big jack, a classic in comedy, from Laurel and Hardy to Dominic and Martin.
The King of the evening
Among their guests, Eddy King is the one who received the best reception from the public thanks to a rather political number. The ex-candidate of Big Brother Celebrities began his sketch by evoking communism and capitalism explained to children. He continued with NATO, the war in Ukraine, Putin’s dictatorship and racism… To end up playing the head of the “Gaetans” of Quebec. A sociologically brilliant number!
Sylvi Tourigny, with his indescribable Carole in the eternal turtleneck, offers fine, even absurd humour. To mark the 40e anniversary of Just for Laughs, his character gave some tips and tricks for a successful party festive. In addition, we would have liked more female comedians in the first part. Because the female succession seems to have the wind in its sails! (Marylène Gendron was supposed to be at the gala, but we didn’t see her.)
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
Sylvi Tourigny, with his indescribable Carole with the eternal turtleneck, offers a fine humor, during the gala at the Théâtre Maisonneuve.
Simon Delisle, the comedian who speaks faster than his shadow, returned to the pandemic and our collective exhaustion: “It was hard, what we experienced! To conclude with a raw, “graphic” joke, about an appointment with his banker to negotiate a mortgage. Let’s just say subtlety isn’t his cup of tea.
Adib Alkhalidey, who is part of all the galas, skilfully surfed on the biases that “white pure wool” Quebecers have towards foreigners. Before concluding with a valve on Anne “Casabouuuneee”!!
Then Martin Perizzolo summed up the fed up of many of his contemporaries by declaring: “We are living through the greatest end of the world, EVER! We’re going straight into a wall. “A pandemic feeling, very anxiety-provoking. However, judging by this brief sample of stand up seen Thursday evening, this feeling seems rooted in the humor of the times.
The series of festival galas continues on Friday with Richardson Zéphir and Eddy King; then Saturday evening, with Rosalie Vaillancourt hosting the fourth and final gala in French.