France’s Alpine Bilingual Comedy Festival | EUROtoday

The Anglo-Saxons and the French delight themselves on their comedy. But not often does both humorousness efficiently cross the nationwide divide. To discover out why, Dominic Bliss heads to a bilingual comedy pageant within the French Alpine resort of Les Gets…

The French have Molière and the British have Shakespeare. The French have Louis de Funès and Jacques Tati, whereas the British have Monty Python and Dad’s Army. The French have Le Dîner des Cons, Les Visiteurs and Intouchables, whereas the British have Blackadder, Only Fools and Horses and Gavin and Stacey.

Most of those comedian creations – revered in their very own countries-get tragically misplaced in translation. And no marvel. The idiomatic language, the phrase play, the regional accents and the cultural references not often reach crossing the Channel. In truth, ask the French to call a well-known British comic and they’re going to in all probability go for the non-verbal selection, resembling Benny Hill or Mr Bean. In the opposite path, the British would possibly cite humorous comedian books, such because the Asterix sequence, which have bought thousands and thousands in translation.

Yet, each nations are lacking out enormously. By making the trouble to find one another’s humor, the British and the French would be taught a terrific deal extra about their neighbors.

Which is why I discovered myself within the ski resort of Les Gets on a freezing chilly January night at its annual bilingual comedy pageant referred to as Les Gets Comédie. Staged on the city’s Salle de la Colombière, it ran for an entire week, with francophone acts performing for six nights and anglophone acts headlining on the ultimate evening. In all, greater than 2,800 spectators attended. The pageant supervisor is Bertrand Josué. “In France, stand-up comedy is a new way of consuming comedy,” he advised me. “Ten or 15 years ago, you would only see famous comedians in large arenas, with big crowds. The idea of ​​seeing comedians who are little known in a small venue, who are perhaps just launching their careers – that’s quite new.”

The catalyst for this, he added, is the recognition of comedy clips on social media channels, particularly YouTube, which allow minor acts to develop their audiences.

The opening night of the pageant noticed two locals performing – Gaëtan Roos and Julien Sonjon. Roos is a traditional slapstick comedian, within the British model of the style. Sonjon, then again, affords a mixture of magic tips, illusions and viewers manipulation. Throughout the remainder of the week, an extra 9 French comedians carried out, some higher recognized, resembling Jason Brokerss, Thomas Angelvy, Pierre Thévenoux, Fanny Ruwet and Merwane Benlazar; others much less recognized.

The ultimate night noticed 4 English-speaking comedians take to the stage: three Britons Maisie Adam, Pierre Novellie and Ian Smith and Irishwoman Catherine Bohart. With a lot of the native British neighborhood in attendance, these 4 adroitly ridiculed nationwide stereotypes. The lamentable state of British delicacies was properly explored, as was the appalling British climate. All 4 have been charmingly self-deprecating, particularly when it got here to their pitiful efforts at talking the native lingo. When it got here to their French hosts, they have been fast to lampoon the Gallic powers of seduction within the bed room and the countless urge for food for political protest.

To actually perceive the cultural variations between what makes the British and the French snort, we want the perception of bilingual comedians who’ve lived in each nations. Fortunately, these exist. Paul Taylor matches the invoice completely. Born in Essex, to an English father and Irish mom, he spent his youth in Switzerland and France, studied and labored in Britain and now lives in France once more. Performing in each languages, the 39-year-old pokes enjoyable at each cultures and derives comedy from his experiences as an expat, linguistic misunderstandings and cultural mix-ups. He is greatest recognized in France for his Canal+ TV present, entitled What the F**ok France, which broadcast in 2016 and 2017 and which will be considered on YouTube. Taylor explains how stand-up comedy is a comparatively new phenomenon in France. He suggests the primary mainstream instance was in 2006 when a weekly TV sequence referred to as Le Jamel Comedy Club launched on Canal+.

Presented by Parisian comic Jamel Debbouze, he provided transient open-mic slots to up-and-coming comics – very a lot within the US comedy custom. Many of the French acts who discovered success via the present have been from ethnic backgrounds. Twenty years on, Taylor says there at the moment are a handful of comedy golf equipment in Paris together with Le Paname Art Café, Le Fridge, La Scène Barbès and Madame Sarfati. Unlike in Britain or the United States, although, stand-up has not but graduated to mainstream TV.

Taylor suggests French TV is extra snug with political satire. C’est Canteloup, on channel TF1, is among the greatest recognized, through which impressionist Nicolas Canteloup takes the mickey out of public figures. Radio can also be a wealthy medium for this model of humor – particularly France Inter due to comedians often known as chroniclers, who ship quick sketches.

Taylor says TV sitcoms are nowhere close to as standard as they’re within the UK or the US. One long-running sequence that has engaged with viewers, nonetheless, is Scènes deménages on channel M6. Now in its sixteenth season, with greater than 4,000 episodes, it options an enormous solid of comedian characters coping with the challenges of household life.

LAUGHTER IN THE LOIRE VALLEY

But what about Anglo-Saxon comedy in France? Taylor says that in relation to the Brits, aside from the non-verbal varieties, resembling Mr Bean, the comedy of les rosbifs struggles to cross the English Channel. “It’s different for American comedians,” he provides. “They can have international careers because we know all about American daily life thanks to Hollywood. So everyone gets it. If an American comedian comes to France and talks about Target and Walmart, everyone knows the cultural references. But if Michael McIntyre talks about Sainsbury’s Local, no one knows what he’s talking about.”

Another well-positioned expat comic is Ian Moore. Originally from Blackburn, in Lancashire, the 53-year-old now lives within the Loire Valley along with his spouse and three sons. Early on in his French journey he tried his hand at delivering stand-up comedy to fellow British expats, however with little success.
Nowadays he writes comedian murder-mystery novels set in rural France, with titles resembling Death and Croissants, Death in Le Jardin and Death and Fromage. “When I first came to France, in 2005, very few understood the concept of stand-up comedy,” he says. “There’s no nationwide stand-up circuit like there may be within the UK or America and that is as a result of, I feel, there is no historical past of music corridor or vaudeville. Historically, theaters are for extra severe pursuits, I assume. The French model of comedic efficiency has at all times been extra bodily, clownish even. I feel that is why individuals within the UK do not have a excessive opinion of French comedy. It appears like for years it did not transfer on.

Famously, Benny Hill and Mr Bean are nonetheless huge over right here, however comedy with phrases over stand-up comedy – has been very gradual to start out.”
Like Taylor, Moore factors out how France’s stand-up comedy was initially delivered by comedians with an ethnic minority background. “The really interesting thing is that a lot of the acts are from poorer, North African backgrounds,” he explains. “Stand-up has become their form of expression.”

SARCASM VS REVOLUTION

He believes a key distinction between the French and their English-speaking counterparts is self-ridicule, with British and American comedians far happier to mock their very own traits and establishments. “The French may not have a high opinion of their traits or institutions but they wouldn’t mock them as that would be insulting France itself,” he explains. “For example, If I do a gig in English to the English, then I’ll take the mick out of the English; if I do a gig in French to the French, then I’ll still take the mick out of the English.” Moore factors out how Brits use comedy to puncture the pomposity of authority, whereas the French will take to the streets in yellow vests. “If they have a problem with an institution or government, they’ll revolt,” he provides, “while the English make jokes or sarcastic comments. It’s why the French had a revolution and the English didn’t.”

Back at Les Gets Comédie, the comedians are entering into full swing. But there’s nonetheless little proof of humor crossing the cultural divide. On the ultimate night, with solely English-speaking acts taking to the stage, there may be however a smattering of French individuals within the viewers. The overwhelming majority are Brits and Irish visiting Les Gets for the snowboarding.

Surely there may be some type of humor we are able to all snort at from either side of the Channel? What a few easy joke? But even bilingual jokes are skinny on the bottom. In conclusion, we’ll depart you with this somewhat corny one. If not fun, hopefully it’ll get a smile:

Two cats, one English and one French, are having a swimming breed. The English one is known as One Two Three, the French one Un Deux Trois. Which cat gained the race?

Answer: The One Two Three cat gained as a result of the One Two Three 4 5. Sorry!

The subsequent Les Gets Comédie runs from January 29 to February 4 2026, with the English-language reveals on January 30.

www.lesgets.com/les-gets-comedie

Lan Moore’s newest e book is C’est la Vie: Adventures of an English Grump in Rural France. Paul Taylor is at present on a world tour.

Visit: paultaylorcomedy.com for tickets.

From France Today Magazine

Lead photograph credit score: Les Gets Comedy