Montreux Comedy, D-3. From Wednesday, the most important French-speaking humor festival will take up residence at the Théâtre de Beaulieu, in Lausanne, for ten days of galas with the cream of French-speaking comedians, from France, Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec. Twenty thousand spectators are expected in total, a good half of whom will come from France (52%) – a 95% occupancy rate.
“We are going to beat our attendance record from last year, underlines Grégoire Furrer, the creator of the festival which has been relocated to Lausanne for two years due to renovation work at the Montreux Congress Center. This influx confirms how laughter remains a safe haven in times of crisis. »
Brigitte Fontaine, l’invincible
This 35th edition once again gives pride of place to emerging comedians, with five galas hosted by Waly Dia, Fadily Camara, Nordine Ganso, Gérémy Crédeville and Guillermo Guiz. No need to invite laughter heavyweights to fill up, even if Gad Elmaleh, Florence Foresti or Anne Roumanoff have already participated in the Swiss festival. In Montreux, the public is young – the average age is between 18 and 35 – and eager for discovery.
“We are not banking on headliners but on the new bosses of laughter, explains Grégoire Furrer. It has been in the DNA of the festival since its creation to discover and reveal talents. I started with my school friends who made me laugh. And then I wanted to film everything, broadcast everything myself, so as to no longer have a filter between what I like and the TV channels. »
Over the years, Montreux Comedy has managed to establish itself as an essential festival, but also a media in its own right and a formidable career accelerator (for the most talented) thanks to its massive presence on social networks: 6 million subscribers on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook… We remember Paul Mirabel, revealed to the general public in 2020 with his sketch “I made myself a racketeer”, which took him from small open stages to the Zéniths.
Gérémy Crédeville confirms the Montreux effect. “When people stop me in the street, it’s to talk to me about my sketches performed during the festival. Montreux is a brand, a quality label. » After four participations, the Lille resident will host his first gala, Montreux, it’s running!surrounded by friends (Laetitia Mampaka, Tristan Lucas, Dolino…). “I played a lot on beaufitude, now I come back changed, as a classy man; but chase away the natural, it comes back at a gallop…”, smiles the comedian, who will tour the Zéniths from March 2025 with this collective show prepared for six months.
These creations remain the hallmark of Montreux. For the opening gala, Waly Dia will present Revolution(s) with a few friends, including Élodie Arnould, Tahnee and Alexis Tramoni. “We are going to ask for humorous asylum in Switzerland as the situation is becoming more and more hostile in our country”, assures one of the rare stand-ups to crack down brilliantly on the minefield of politics.
Our movie reviews of the week
For his part, Fadily Camara will invite the public into his living room for an evening with friends, with a certain Jean-Pascal Zadi… Also highly anticipated, the Gala Purple by Nordine Ganso, who is a hit with his tender and caring look without being harmless, will be broadcast live on the festival’s YouTube channel. We can finally count on Guillermo Guiz for a beautiful closing with Pursuit of Loliness. A show in which the most gifted Belgian comedian of his generation will try to trick Marina Rollman, Thomas Wiesel or Benjamin Tranié to compose the perfect sketch.
Among the hundred invited artists, we will notice how the programming is very open to French comedians. “They represent 90% of the festival’s artists, indicates Grégoire Furrer. France is a large country compared to Switzerland or Belgium, so mathematically they are more numerous.
And then, Paris, with all its comedy clubs, remains “the place to be” for any French-speaking comedian. » The founder of the festival is determined to develop in France. After creating the Lillarious festival in Lille in 2022, he is launching a new challenge: setting up a meeting dedicated to humor, this time in Nice, with a partner of choice, Gad Elmaleh. First edition planned for October 2025.
