The 25the Les Olivier gala, Sunday evening, was the consecration for Philippe-Audrey Larrue-St-Jacques, who won two statuettes, including that of comedy show of the year. The Olivier of the year, awarded following a public vote, also went to Mathieu Dufour, who is causing a sensation on social networks.
With 250,000 subscribers on Instagram, “Math Duff”, as he is nicknamed by his many admirers, was ahead of Christine Morency, Mike Ward, Arnaud Soly and Pierre-Yves Roy-Desmarais, winner of Olivier of the Year, in the popular vote. last year.
A few minutes before, Philippe-Audrey Larrue-St-Jacques received the Olivier for comedy show of the year for Child of the centuryhis second one man show. He was in the running against Eve Côté and Simon Gouache, in particular. The comedian, always dressed in a three-piece suit, also walked away with the author of the year award for the same show. “I am really proud to belong to a people who have given so much importance to humor, to the point of transforming it into an art,” he said in one of his acceptance speeches.
Billy Tellier, who recently left the host of the CKOI morning show, also leaves with two statuettes, one for the humorous capsule of the year on the radio, the other for the number of the year for her participation in Guylaine Tremblay’s well-cooked show this summer at ComediHa!
Sam Breton, who abruptly canceled his tour in January on medical advice, won the Olivier for the most popular show, but he was conspicuous by his absence on Sunday. Still suffering from professional burnout, Sam Breton had commissioned comedian David Beaucage to come and collect his prize. His first solo show crossed the threshold of 200,000 tickets sold at the end of 2022, a feat that few comedians can boast of today in this hypercompetitive industry.
There have never been so many comedians in Quebec. And yet, some still manage to carve out a place for themselves. Drag queen Mona from Grenoble was crowned discovery of the year on Sunday evening, facing Suzie Bouchard, Michelle Desrochers, Tommy Néron and Mégan Brouillard.
The next generation was in the spotlight on Sunday, but so were the veterans. The audience warmly applauded Lise Dion, who was making her first public outing since the heart attack which prevented her from completing her tour before her retirement this fall. A tribute was also paid to Michel Barrette to mark his 40-year career.
A special prize was also discreetly awarded during the industry gala on Sunday afternoon to recognize the work of Clémence DesRochers. Couldn’t the tribute to this pioneer have instead been slipped into the main gala?
Industry in transformation
In animation, Cathy Gauthier and Eve Côté did very well, not afraid of scratching their colleagues. Their opening number was caustic as hell. Speaking of Martin Matte and the failure of his TVA talk show, Eve Côté cleverly said: “We thought he was condemned to excellence, but in my opinion, his sentence is over. »
From the start of the gala, the two co-hosts tackled the two angry subjects head-on, namely the return of Julien Lacroix and the setbacks of Just for Laughs. The Oliviers took place this year in a particular context for the comedy industry in Quebec, while the Juste pour laughs group has just taken shelter from its creditors, which resulted in the dismissal of 75 people.
The industry has changed a lot since the days when Just for Laughs reigned as king and master of the comedy world. A sign that times are changing: the Association of Comedy Industry Professionals, which organizes the gala, now awards two prizes to the best humorous podcasts. The fifth season of Worst moments in historyhosted by Charles Beauchesne, won the Olivier for humorous podcast with script, while The pcast of characters by Jay Laliberté was crowned best unscripted podcast. Note that Mike Ward preferred not to register his very popular podcast Listening in this category to give others a chance.