JUST FOR LAUGHS: See Comedy’s Finest at Place des Arts

This past March, Just For Laughs set the tone for its 41st edition with a focus on diversity when it announced its first featured guests, including American comedian and actress Ali Wong, of the recent hit Netflix series Beef, and the drag duo of Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamo. Their shows sold out weeks ago, but there are still several other opportunities to bust a gut at Place des Arts from July 26 to 29. The choice is yours!

Dazzling, star-studded shows

Another headliner, Jonathan Van Ness, star of the reality show Queer Eye, brings his Fun & Slutty show to Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. The author, host, television personality, and hairstylist to the stars promises an evening of queer fun and comedy that will leave you in stitches!

Why pick just one comic when you can see a whole slew at once in the galas presented at Théâtre Maisonneuve! Canadian comedy icon Russell Peters hosts four special galas in two days, bringing together 32 comedians, with a different group from one show to the next. See the whole list here. Next up are galas hosted by British comedians Jack Whitehall and Eddie Izzard, Mae Martin from Toronto—who can be seen on the English Canadian adaptation of LOL: Last One Laughing—and finally, former Saturday Night Live cast member Leslie Jones (lien).

More intimate laughs

Salle Claude-Leveillée is host to several smaller-scale performances, including a show by comedian Gina Yashere—a stop on her new solo tour titled The Woman King of Comedy no less, in which she reveals how she made it in Hollywood after starting out on the streets of London. Prolific comedian, host, author, and singer Judy Gold also appears at the venue.

Two rising stars on the LA comedy scene—comic, actor, and writer River Butcher, and multiple award-winning Canadian comedian Debra DiGiovanni (fans of MuchMusic will remember her from Video on Trial several years back)—are also each presenting their stand-up shows.

Discover—or rediscover—the storytelling talent of Ugandan comedian Arthur Simeon, a festival regular, and Gianmarco Soresi, hailed as a JFL New Face in 2022, who is returning to the Festival this year.

Australian comedian Tom Ballard also brings us his new show It is I—about robots, the monarchy, and death!—, as do Josie Long with Re-Enchantment (the follow-up to her critically acclaimed show Tender) and Mark Forward (who has two specials available on Crave) with Mark Forward Presents Safari Time.

Keep laughing and enjoy the festival!