Can we laugh at everything? The stand-up also raises the question

• American stand-up star comedian Dave Chappelle is performing in Paris this week.

  His latest show

  The Closer

  , broadcast by Netflix, caused controversy due to transphobic and homophobic remarks.

• In Ile-de-France, stand-up has experienced significant growth in recent years, with the proliferation of comedy clubs. 

• And the French also ask themselves the question of the subjects of which we can laugh, or not, and in what way. 

The places sold out at full speed – despite their cost, from 160 euros. Stand-up star Dave Chapelle is in Paris. He is known, especially in the United States, for his satirical sketches addressing in particular the issue of racism. In October 2021, his latest Netflix-streamed show (as part of a multi-million dollar deal),

, was criticized for transphobic and homophobic language.

Chappelle performed at the Apollo Theater in the 11th arrondissement, then at the Trianon in the 18th.

Coincidence?

The latter was to welcome, a week later, Hannah Gatsby and her

.

Alas, a broken leg prevents him from performing, much to the chagrin of his fans.

The Australian comedian rose to international fame in 2018 with

, a show deconstructing the mechanics of stand-up comedy, also broadcast by Netflix.

She also found herself in spite of herself embroiled in the controversy around Chappelle.

Scenes that bloom

Two monuments of stand-up – and two conceptions of humor – were therefore scheduled in France a few days apart, and were sold out. But even without the international stars, the stand-up audience is spoiled for choice in the capital.

“I started stand-up 4 or 5 years ago; I then saw new scenes spring up every week, it was amazing,” says Julie Dousset, actress and founder of the Montreuil Comedy Club. In 2021, she entrusted the animation and the programming to Aymeric Carrez, computer engineer and stand-upper since 2015. “The stand-up exploded around 2018-2019”, he confirms. “The proliferation of comedy clubs has accelerated the development of stand-up. Venue owners and actors have taken over places, bars, ”explains Jessie Varin, artistic director of the Théâtre de la Nouvelle Seine, who has been living on a barge near Notre-Dame-de-Paris for eight years.

Between October 2019 and September 2020, three celebrity comedy clubs opened their doors: Shirley Souagnon's Barbès Comedy Club, Fary's Madame Sarfati Comedy Club, and Kev Adams' Fridge Comedy Club.

These three names come up often, as do those of Point-Virgule, a historic comedy theater located in the Marais, or the Paname Art Café, near the Canal Saint-Martin, orchestrated by Kader Aoun and Karim Kachour.

But, apart from certain open stages (such as the Trempoint at Point-Virgule or the Micro Ouvert at the Barbès Comedy Club), a beginner does not perform there directly.

For that, it is better to turn to one of the many “plateaus” in the Paris region.

"Free entry, exit to the hat"

“A set is a small group of people who organize a stand-up evening in a place and do publicity to bring in the public, explains Julie Dousset.

Generally, it's "free entry, hat exit".

Those who don't know anyone send videos for the sets to open their doors.

" Samir Benyoucef started stand-up when theaters reopened in May 2021. "I didn't know anyone, and I didn't have a recording, so I needed to start with sets where we accept everyone. world.

By dint of playing, you meet people and you play a little more, ”he says.

Shortly after, he created his set to be able to "play more often", the Gazette Comedy Club, devoted to "stand-up on the news".

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“The more you play, the more you progress, the more you write.

First, 5, then 10, then 20 minutes, and once you have enough material you can write 1 hour and canvass theaters, ”confirms Tahnee, who recounts his career as a lesbian and mixed-race comedian in his show

every Tuesday at the Comédie des 3 Bornes, in the 11th arrondissement.

With the proliferation of comedy clubs, the scene has become more complex and diversified.

For Julie Dousset, the medium seems to be “professionalizing in writing”.

Jessie Varin notes a greater place for “personal” or even “intimate” subjects.

But beware: “In stand-up, you pretend to start from yourself, and you expand to a broader purpose.

Talking about yourself serves to create a human connection.

Then you generalize and bring everyone together in your experience,” recalls comedian Alicia Cesttout, who has hosted the Good Girls Comedy Club, an all-female set, for two years.

Screens and small rooms

The stand-up really emerged in France from 2006, and the creation on Canal+ of the Jamel Comedy Club. "He paved the way for a lot of people from minorities, who we weren't used to seeing on stage," says Jessie Varin. And now, because we've democratized stand-up, even more people have the courage to speak up. The scene evolves with society, the younger generation redefines the codes and topics of discussion. »

This eternal question remains: “Can we laugh at everything? ". “It's a hypercomplex debate, recognizes Aymeric Carrez. There are two worlds in stand-up: that of small venues, comedy clubs where people let loose, and that of screens. Comedians pay more attention when they know it's going to air. The art of stand-up is to pretend that you are speaking in your name, while playing a character. Sometimes we grope, we make mistakes, and the audience knows it; but behind a screen it's easier to attribute bad intentions to you. “For Julie Dousset, in theaters too, “we support less and less the stereotyped valve. But that means you have to work a little harder. »

Reflection is in any case present among beginner comedians.

“I don't know to what extent it is a political will, or a simple desire to renew what has been done for ten or twenty years, questions Samir Benyoucef.

What's new with the same sexist or racist humor that we see on TV?

Alicia Cesttout believes that we “can talk about anything, it depends on what you say, your angle, your intention.

I am an atheist, I speak a lot of religions, I laugh at contradictions.

I even have a joke about Judaism, which we like to say is a forbidden subject – which is false.

No one has ever blamed me for anything, because I don't belittle anyone.

»

Get a place

She sees another development: “Many people no longer make fun of themselves as a minority. I have always been bristled by the humor of people who put down their immigrant parents, for example. But it was Hannah Gadsby who sped things up by saying “you're not humble, you're humbling yourself” [in her

show , editor's note]. It's not a majority trend, but people are thinking about it. »

With this in mind, Tahnee co-founded with two other comedians, Mahaut and Lucie Carbone, Comédie Love, a “safe, committed and feminist” space.

“4-5 years ago, we found the environment still very masculine, it was not easy to make your place as a girl – now, I think it's better.

We wanted to create our own set, and reach a rather LGBT and feminist audience, with a solidarity dimension by inviting associations.

The Comédie Love takes place one Sunday a month at the Nouvelle Seine.

For Jessie Varin, “it's a very open space for speaking out, where we talk about themes that perhaps couldn't have been tackled in the very masculine universe of the beginnings of stand-up.

»

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Masculine, the stand-up always is.

Women have increased in number, but not in proportion.

It is with a view to giving them more space that Julie Dousset imposed parity at the Montreuil Comedy Club;

and that Alicia Cesttout organizes her “stand-up evening that makes room for comedian chicks” two Sundays a month.

“On mixed sets, it's often one girl per set.

And we have no room for error.

You can't bid;

if you bident, it's all the chicks who bident.

On the other hand, if you are a hit, you are not like the others…”, laments Alicia Cesttout.

"For me, the question is 'let's admit that we can laugh at everything, is there room for everyone?

», summarizes Tahnee.

I don't see a lot of trans people for example, but I think it's starting.

»

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