Boucar Diouf launched the tour of his fifth solo show on Thursday, entitled Nomo Sapienswhere he puts his magnifying glass on the large primates to better dissect the funny beasts that are humans.
This time, the comedian chose to attack the myth according to which the man and his fiancée would be species apart in Creation. Smarter, more advanced? Not sure, answers the one who sees in humanity a good dose of bullshit, if not worse.
This explains the title Nomo Sapiens, cross between nono and Sapiens. To support his theory, the holder of a master’s degree in biology relies on two of the closest cousins of humans, the bonobo monkeys and the chimpanzees. The first are Peace and Love matriarchal and vegetarians who settle many conflicts with a good orgy. The latter are macho and political warriors, where all favors are paid to the detriment of the female.
Between the two, the heart of Homo Sapiens swings constantly, believes the comedian, in great shape for the premiere of this new project.
Once again, Boucar Diouf plays alchemists with his audience. He achieves the perfect balance between scientific information, pieces of popular wisdom (whether African or Gaspé), puns with a very Quebec sauce and personal anecdotes about his own nursery, especially when he arrived in Quebec, in Rimouski. .
He can also, when necessary, bring his humor down to just below the belt. Not out of a simple need to shock and without falling into unnecessary vulgarity. Just because a joke of “trick on the pocket”, of “starting only on a kid” or of “anal exploration” always has its effect when it is well constructed. Proof that humans (including the author of these lines) are never very far from their simian roots. After all, the human shares 98% of his genetics with the chimpanzee… it has to be expressed on occasion.
PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, THE PRESS
Boucar Diouf has chosen a staging reduced to its simplest expression for this new solo project.
Boucar Diouf’s magic resides in his ability to be able, in the same breath, to pay vibrant homage to the feminist movement and then to imitate unmistakably the grapeshot of onomatopoeia coming out of the mouth of the angry Quebecer. He knows how to recognize the infinitely small and celebrate the infinitely large. All with finesse, generosity and sincerity that warm the soul.
To bridge the gap between the various numbers, the comedian chose to include short musical excerpts composed by his spouse and where we hear his children sing. Nice, but the process is overused and ends up falling a bit flat. The staging is also reduced here to its simplest expression.
But, let’s face it, it is mainly through his words that Boucar Diouf seduces. And by its constantly renewed ability to touch the hearts of spectators at the same time as it stimulates their neurons. It makes us better and smarter: that’s something! In short, Boucar Diouf has carved out a place for himself in the Quebec humorous landscape and this most recent show once again proves it in a superb way.
Nomo Sapiens
On tour everywhere in Quebec