Latest news with #JustforLaughsFestival
The Herald Scotland
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Comedy star Jim Jefferies announces two Scottish dates
Jefferies has released ten stand-up specials, including five Netflix hits, with his latest, Two Leg Policy, to be released on August 12. He was named Stand-Up Comedian of the Year at the Just for Laughs Festival in 2019 and has starred in his own sitcom, Legit, as well as hosting The Jim Jefferies Show. Jefferies will perform at the SEC Armadillo in Glasgow on November 7 and the Playhouse in Edinburgh the following day. Tickets are available here.
Montreal Gazette
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
Brownstein: Local comics set for big break at Just for Laughs Festival
By Throughout the years, one of the Just for Laughs Festival's most popular series had been the Montreal Shows, spotlighting the best and brightest of this city's anglo wits. For reasons unknown and baffling, the series disappeared for a spell and, with its absence, so did the dreams of many an aspiring local. The good news for these standups as well as their fans is that the 43rd JFL, running July 16-27, will feature the series again with two shows on July 18 at Théâtre Ste-Catherine. Two of the city's sharpest wits, Raajiee Chelliah and Wassim El-Mounzer, will get an opportunity to showcase their talents that night. And another can't miss homegrown comic, Rachid Badouri, will have a chance to dazzle when he brings his wild solo show, The Tale of the Syrian Dragon, to Club Soda on July 23. The three, on hand for a pre-fest get-together at Théâtre Ste-Catherine, should be on the precipice for great success beyond city limits. They all have something in common: their comedy is somewhat based on the immigrant culture shock experienced by them and their families — not unlike that felt by another city star-wit, Sugar Sammy, whose fame has since exploded around the planet. And as is the case with Sugar Sammy, the acts of Chelliah, El-Mounzer and Badouri resonate with audiences of all backgrounds — anglo, franco and allo. Badouri, who is of Moroccan origin, has been a force here on the franco side with his satirical shtick, but now he's seeking same on the Anglo side. Simply put, the three have the funny down pat, regardless of the subject matter. 'If I were Rachid, I'd be insulted to be put in same category as us,' quips El-Mounzer, 37, who was born in Beirut but moved to Montreal with his family when he was two years old. 'I feel so great about this festival opportunity now. I came up watching comics like Sugar Sammy, Rachid and Russell Peters, which was so inspiring and making me think maybe I might have something funny to say with my outsider experience.' The self-deprecating El-Mounzer cut the comedy disc You Can English a few years ago, but it doesn't reflect his cultural experience here. Much to his family's delight, El-Mounzer graduated from McGill with a degree in physiology. But much to his family's chagrin, he decided to give up a career in physiology. El-Mounzer then bolted to South Korea to teach English as a second language at a Seoul school called — really — You Can English. And so his comedy began to bloom. There weren't a lot of laughs for Chelliah's family, whose parents, Tamil Hindu refugees, had fled the civil war in Sri Lanka. They had more pressing concerns, like starting their lives from scratch all over again. 'There's power and there's unity when you're laughing about your experiences together,' Chelliah, 31, says. 'There's a lot of release there to be able to share that with others. I have found so much relief as well as release in comedy, especially as an outsider. I'm very proud of my identity and now it's become something I can use to share as a story with everyone else and bring out some humour at the same time.' After graduating from university in commerce, Chelliah's parents were not initially amused with her choosing to opt for comedy until she showed she could make a living at it. 'They were initially confused by comedy. They used to think I was a motivational speaker, kind of,' she muses. 'The dream now is to go on tour and put together an hour show.' Her soft-spoken demeanour belies her blunt albeit hilarious approach. To wit, Chelliah subscribes to the Nikki Glaser school in 'the way she passively drops her punchlines.' Beyond his background, the chrome-domed Badouri, 48, who could pass for Mr. Clean, is seeking to see how far he can push his comedy limits. Last year, he impressed audiences at the Netflix Is a Joke Fest in L.A. Now, he's become focused on upping his anglo comedy career. 'I've been almost everywhere in Quebec and I have been truly blessed, but on the English side, I'm really just starting,' Badouri says. 'I'm the one who is actually humbled to be included with these guys. They just may be the best English comics in the city. They blow me away. They are so talented. 'I'm just so thankful, though, that Just for Laughs is celebrating local talent. You can't have the biggest comedy festival in the world and not have a special showcase for our local comics who so need and deserve the opportunity.' The comedy world has dramatically changed over the last few decades with the non-stop proliferation of material on the internet, social media, streaming networks and YouTube. Comedy no longer just entails club and theatre gigs. 'So many stories have already been told,' El-Mounzer says. 'Stories about just being from an immigrant background in and of itself is not interesting anymore. It might have been 20 years ago. Now, you have to stand out beyond that. There are so many comedians out there from multiple different backgrounds. Original comedy now has to become a lot more personal for audiences to connect with.' Chelliah concurs: 'I've been really big on not perpetuating stereotypes because they've already been done so much. I'm very intentional about that. A lot of the comics from our kind of backgrounds are very conscious of that. That was the previous generation. Now, we're more open to talking about the experiences outside our cultural identity. I just love that shift we're going through now. 'Comedy really comes out of all manner of chaos, culturally or otherwise. Good comedy comes out of experiences and trauma and pain and sadness.' Or to crack open that old philosophical chestnut, attributed to Mark Twain: 'Comedy is tragedy plus time.' 'It always comes down to math, doesn't it?' Badouri opines. 'And a little exaggeration, too. OK, maybe a lot.' AT A GLANCE: The 43rd Just for Laughs Festival runs July 16-27. Wassim El-Mounzer will be performing in The Montreal Series: The Montreal Show at 8:30 p.m., July 18 at Théâtre Ste-Catherine. Raajiee Chelliah will be performing at 10 p.m., in the late show in the same series at the same venue. Rachid Badouri brings his solo show, The Tale of the Syrian Dragon, to Club Soda on July 23. For tickets and information on all JFL shows, visit
Scotsman
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Alt-Comedy Favourite Parker Callahan Hits Fringe with Multimedia Show
American comedian, musician and internet cult favourite Parker Callahan brings his debut solo hour Soda Pop to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer, running from 30 July to 24 August (not 11th) at Assembly George Square Studios – Studio 5 at 10.05pm. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Fresh from being named a Character New Face at the 2023 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, and with millions of views online as @parkthelark, Callahan arrives in Edinburgh with a show that defies easy description. At once chaotic, camp and captivating, Soda Pop is a surreal ride through a queer mind that refuses to self-edit. This multimedia performance fuses absurdist stand-up, original music and offbeat sketches into one of the most unique offerings on the Fringe this year. From songs about thrifted underwear to mock-calling the police on audience members who make too much eye contact, Callahan's comedy swerves between horror and hilarity, high art and low camp. While Soda Pop proudly avoids trauma narratives or earnest soul-searching, it still manages to touch on something deeply human, offering the full spectrum of the ridiculous and the profound. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Visually, the show is a mash-up of early 2000s trash culture, including blurry paparazzi photos, late-night infomercials and unapologetically watermarked stock images. Musically, Callahan ranges from euphoric bangers to melodramatic ballads that could make even the most committed heterosexual pause for thought. Parker Callahan A trained musician with a background in music theory and composition, Callahan brings both chaos and craft to the stage. His artistic influences include Cole Escola, Tim Robinson, Maria Bamford, Tim and Eric, Pee Wee Herman and John Waters, reflecting the wide cultural net he casts. Callahan is no stranger to live performance. He has toured globally with The Second City, premiered Soda Pop at Chicago's Tomorrow Never Knows Festival, and directed and starred in Stepmom, a lesbian-leaning reimagining of the Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts film, which sold out at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre. He also co-created RuPaul's Drag Race winner Willow Pill's debut national tour, God's Child. Originally from Chicago, a city known for its sharp and sometimes strange comedy scene, Callahan shares roots with performers like Meg Stalter, Sarah Squirm and Connor O'Malley. Edinburgh may be about to meet its next breakout star. If you're looking for something bold, bizarre and joyfully unhinged, Soda Pop is the late-night fix you didn't know you needed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Comedian Jim Jefferies talks tour stop in Rochester
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Comedian, actor, and podcaster Jim Jefferies calls in to join the News 8 at Sunrise show ahead of his planned 'Son of a Carpenter' tour stop at the Kodak Center this Saturday. Speaking candidly with News 8's Mikhaela Singleton, Jefferies says he may enjoy a garbage plate before the show where fans can expect to hear a roast or two of his wife and antics from his youngest son. Jefferies is well known for his anecdotal stand-up style with jokes ranging from brutal honesty to thought-provoking insights. With ten specials already under his belt, he says he's excited for the latest developments in his career hosting game shows and reality tv. Jefferies was honored by the Just for Laughs Festival with the 2019 Stand-up Comedian of the Year award. Tickets are still available for the Jim Jefferies 'Son of a Carpenter' show on Saturday, May 10 at 7 pm. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
