Like every year, the cream of French-speaking comedians gathered at the Montreux Festival, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary. We were at the closing gala.
Last night in Montreux or almost… For the second year in a row, the Montreux Comedy festival relocated to Lausanne, to the Théâtre de Beaulieu, due to work in the city where it was born. It is therefore outside the walls and on a new stage that the essential meeting place for French-speaking humor celebrated its 35th anniversary. This year, 22,000 spectators pushed through the door of the theater where 75 French-speaking comedians performed, ranging from heavyweights to emerging talents.
For the closing gala on Saturday evening, it was the Belgian Guillermo Guiz who was in charge. During a two-hour show entitled “Pursuit of the Loliness”, he becomes convinced that the festival no longer wants to invite comedians who have passed the 40-year mark. The one who celebrated his 43rd birthday this Saturday evening is, according to him, living his last Montreux and hopes to mark the occasion by creating the perfect sketch, one that will put YouTube on overheating, while the festival has more than 6 million subscribers on social networks. And that it is a real career accelerator as evidenced by the career of Paul Mirabel. Guillermo therefore invited sisters and brothers whose writing he likes and extracted advice and tips from them for his famous final issue. A very well-written theme, dynamic from start to finish.
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From the American presidential election to sexuality
His friend, the regional resident of the stage, Thomas Wiesel, opens the ball. Remote control in hand to scroll through photos and press clippings, he mischievously dissects the American presidential election, where certain punchlines are already comical in themselves. Sad for the citizen, joyful for the comedian. More personal, Yacine Belhousse explains how he plans to lose the 15 kilos he gained during confinement when his little inner voice did not guide him towards a new horizon but towards the fridge. Morgane Cadignan, for her part, shares with the audience one of her childhood traumas when at 8 years old her grandmother repeated THE advice to her: go out all the time with clean, matching panties in case she had an accident and the firefighters would have to intervene.
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A great discovery, Lala is a school teacher by day, a stand-up artist in the evening and effectively recounts the adventures of her kindergarten students and colleagues. Rare on stage, Marina Rollman returns as a whimsical coach after having stopped humor, electronic bracelet on her ankle, offering convoluted businesses.
Benjamin Tranié doesn’t understand why he’s acting out in Montreux while Bérengère Krief plays a part of his show “Sex”, currently on view, and recounts his not at all intuitive lesbian experience in front of a hilarious audience. Finally Doully is on crutches but has not lost his bite. She deliciously destroys the sores, these “fucking Molkky players”. Their carrot cake, their bubble tea, their “Birk” and their concept stores, everything goes there. Here it is as an aperitif. The closing gala will be broadcast in full in early 2025 on Comedy Club and available on My Canal.
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