This is the latest phenomenon of live performance in France. In about fifteen years, stand-up, popular among young people of all social categories and all origins, has found its audience, the number of artists fond of this form of humor has skyrocketed but, in the world of theater, He has not yet acquired his letters of nobility. Stand-up, this art of direct discourse to talk about oneself and/or society, is for theater what rap was, in its beginnings, for music: a popular genre little understood by institutions because it is disruptive with traditional codes. “It is considered a minor genre. There is a reflex to “exoticize” it, considering that it is not exactly theater. “Whoever practices stand-up does not hide behind a set, a staging, he is in the bone”says Mohamed El Khatib.
After having documented the privacy of older people in The secret life of the elderly (currently on tour), the fate of children whose parents are separated in The disputethe passion of football fans in StadiumThis author and director of subsidized theater performs monologues during his carte blanche at the Fall Festival. “One of the challenges of my work is to decenter the tropism for new forms and instead work in new directions to attract younger viewers and bring a story that has been marginalized to public theater”explains Mohamed El Khatib, a long-time fan of this discipline. From Jamel Debbouze to Fary, from Eric and Ramzy to Haroun, from Blanche Gardin to Wary Nichen, his references are multiple. “Stand-up is both a popular history of art and a history of contempt. We must rehabilitate the quality of this discourse, of these new stories, of this writing, of this rhythm. It is a theatrical art in itself.”defends this creator of intimate and social epics.
Reflection on the springs of discipline
he believed stand up in collaboration with the “Talents Adami Théâtre” operation, which highlights young actresses at the dawn of their careers. But according to the traditional criteria of this system – being less than 30 years old and justifying theatrical training of at least two years or previous professional experience – added Mohamed El Khatib “or have practiced stand-up”. Above all, he asked candidates to submit a funny two-minute video. “I didn’t look at the resumes”he assures. Of the six hundred applications received, eighty were selected for a five-minute solo audition. In the end, eight were selected to form the troupe for this new show.
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