The president of a Quebec-based leisure group says he’s “reviving” the Montreal Simply For Laughs pageant with a scaled-down 2024 occasion that features exhibits by Dane Cook dinner, Bassem Youssef and Bobby Slayton.
ComediHa! CEO Sylvain Father or mother-Bédard says it’s a “little bit of a miracle” the corporate is ready to announce a July lineup solely weeks after buying numerous property from the financially troubled Only for Laughs comedy firm.
Whereas this yr’s pageant can be smaller on the English aspect, with about 15 exhibits and 20-30 comedians, he stated it sends a robust sign.
“It was vital for us to make an announcement to the followers, to the totally different companions and to the comedy trade that we’re there, we’re nonetheless there, and we’re going to be there,” he stated in a telephone interview.
Only for Laughs cancelled its Montreal and Toronto festivals earlier this yr and sought creditor safety, blaming the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and the altering leisure trade for its monetary woes.
Father or mother-Bédard’s ComediHa! introduced earlier this month {that a} decide authorized its bid to accumulate the manufacturers Juste pour rire, Simply For Laughs, Zoofest, ComedyPro, the Gags, in addition to the audiovisual catalogue.
The 2024 pageant runs from July 18 to twenty-eight and can function a free outside efficiency by Cook dinner, about 15 exhibits at numerous venues, and a closing present that has but to be introduced. It will likely be run alongside the corporate’s French pageant, known as “ComediHa! salue Montréal.”
Whereas the corporate had been planning the French Montreal occasion beneath its personal banner since March, Father or mother-Bédard stated it solely confirmed on June 7 that it will be capable to run exhibits beneath the Simply For Laughs identify.
He stated this yr’s version received’t have an enormous English-speaking gala, and the corporate received’t produce tv this summer season.
Nevertheless, he promised that attendees received’t be dissatisfied by the standard of the lineup. He expects Cook dinner’s outside efficiency at Place des Festivals to attract hundreds of followers, and stated it’s the primary time Youssef — described within the press launch as “the Egyptian-born coronary heart surgeon-turned-host of the Arab world’s largest political satire present” — has come to town.
Father or mother-Bédard stated that by subsequent yr he desires to return the Montreal pageant to its pre-pandemic glory days. Within the brief time period, he additionally desires to convey again touring throughout Canada with the Only for Laughs model.
He stated the corporate nonetheless hasn’t decided on the way forward for the Toronto Simply For Laughs pageant however stated the corporate can be again within the metropolis in some type later this yr and is planning a fuller occasion for fall 2025.
A court docket submitting from insolvency trustee PwC stated Groupe Juste pour rire booked a web lack of greater than $7.9 million within the first 10 months of 2023. Court docket paperwork launched in March confirmed the corporate owed practically $22.5 million to collectors, whereas extra paperwork launched later confirmed a further $5 million owed by the pageant and different affiliated companies.
Father or mother-Bédard stated he has solely been in a position to rent again about 10 of the 130 or so workers who had been laid off from the Simply For Laughs comedy firm. He stated ComediHa! remains to be sifting via some 6,000 paperwork related to the property it bought, however he expressed confidence it may keep away from the monetary errors of its predecessor.
He stated his firm is beneath his management, making it extra “agile” on the subject of decision-making. He additionally stated he wasn’t going to focus an excessive amount of on revenue, no less than for now.
“It’s unusual to listen to, however I’m honest about it,” he stated. “We don’t do it at first for revenue and for cash. We do it as a result of we like comedy, we like festivals, we like Montreal and Quebec Metropolis and we need to be proud to be the flagship of comedy all around the world.”
© 2024 The Canadian Press
