Laugh, dammit
Just for Laughs/Juste pour rire festival
July 12-22, various venues
If the Jazz festival is still the the monster king truck of Montreal festivals, Just for Laughs (a close second in festival crowd turnout) and its sister fest Juste pour rire are right up there - if only by the sheer volume and variety of shows.
The yuk-fest caters to practically all tastes in humour: Anglo and Québécois, British and French, nasty, queer, dope smokin', bar mitzvah - just about every routine you could imagine except someone dropping their drawers and waggling their privates at the audience (oh no, wait, in the Puppetry of the Penis show, they've got that too ... don't ask).
The 19th year of Just for Laughs/Juste pour rire starts July 12, although some events were previewed in the last couple of weeks, and other will continue past the official Festival closing date of July 22. A half-dozen or so series fill out the eleven official days with club dates, improv, free outdoor events, theatre, and film (this, their second year of collaboration with the Fantasia festival).
Sorting through all this of course takes a little time - look over the Just For Laughs Festival site for show and ticket info - and here are few things to look for in this elephant-sized event:
Momix in Orbit - There's very good buzz about this company, with their choreographed mix of theatre, circus, and comedy. As they describe it, it's a "stratosphere of cosmic pleasure, while dreams, light, shadow and motion whisk you away from time and space." (Actually, the very same thing happened to me in the early 80s, but it was just some really strong mushrooms.)
Scott Thompson (pictured at the start): ahh... The Kids in the Hall, the Larry Sanders Show, Buddy Cole, Francesca Fiore, Queen Elizabeth - such happy memories... The talented Mr. Thompson presents his one-man production The Lowest Show on Earth in the On the Edge series. You really should see this guy.
TJ Dawe - Dawe's solo piece The Slip-Knot won the Best Comedy "Frankie Award" at this year's Montreal Fringe (we wrote about it here). He's so talented and so funny, it's great to see Dawe get a big deal Festival spot - and it should also be a treat to see the piece remounted at the Centaur (Best of Montreal Fringe event) with a nice stage, good sound, and real, not-clamped-on-a-mic-stand lights (on second thought, I kinda hope he keeps those).
Laurent Paquin - this razor sharp Quebec comic returns to Juste pour Rire for La série standup francophone. Quick, sarcastic, and a little pissed-off - really funny, too.
Spinal Tap - The creators of the all time best ever "rockumentary" (Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, and possibly an exploding drummer) host Gala series number six, dignifying the event with a solemn paean to Heavy Metal music. Action figures sold separately.
Just for Laughs/Juste pour rire info: dial 514 790-HAHA, tickets 514 845-2322
La Fête (du Saint-Jean) 2001
Insert clever fringe headline here
Avant-garde for everyone
Myst III: Exile
One of a kind