the essential
A stand-up teacher for children since 2021, actor Lionel Latapie believes that this expression is a real tool of expression. Interview.
How did you become a stand-up comedy teacher?
In Paris, I met Thomas Ngijol, a comedian and stand-up actor spotted at the Jamel Comedy Club, created by Jamel Debbouze and a reference in Parisian stand-up. I learned a lot there. I was a 21-year-old hybrid actor starting out on stage. Back in Toulouse, I created theater workshops for children with Jack said…, mixing great classics, street languages and total improvisations. Then in November 2021, the director of the Mama Shelter in Toulouse asked me if the cinema created in the basement of this hotel could accommodate theater for adults. With this intimate character and its forty seats, a stand-up was entirely possible. The Comédiy Club, a stand-up theater for children, was born. Interrupted for the moment, they continue at 16 rue Saint-Jacques in Toulouse.
In your opinion, what does this theatrical expression bring?
Let us remember that stand-up appeared in cabarets in France and the United States in the 19th century. It is a comedy genre where the comedian is alone on stage, without scenery, without props. He calls the audience to witness via personal stories and engages the public. It allows you to acquire boldness, self-confidence and free expression.
Why do you think stand-up is so successful today?
Despite all the new tools, our society is fragile and lacks communication. People have a huge need to tell their stories. And then for a theater director it is easier to sell a stand-up show with a reduced budget than a classic play like Feydeau’s Flea in the Ear which requires 14 actors and sets.
You recently played alone on stage the character of Meursault, a major role in Camus’s The Stranger in Toulouse. What’s the difference with stand-up?
These are somewhat the same psychological aspects but the big difference is that this character is a classic role. Being alone on stage was a first for me and I loved it. I will be there again in June 2025 with a new text.
