Montréal is famous for its festivals: JazzFest, Completely Circus, the Fête des Neiges and the international fireworks competition (which will be happening right around the corner from our apartment! BOOM!)
But you can thank Jewish Montréal—which we’ll cover in another post, bagels and all—for Just For Laughs, the world’s largest international comedy festival producer. JFL attracts both rising talent and beloved stand-up stars from all over the world, and has become a monster in digital production and distribution as well.
This article from the CBC tells the story of the festival’s birth and growth: from its roots in Montréal’s historic Yiddish theatre, to its scrappy beginnings in 1983, and its current status as one of the biggest influencers in comedy today.
You don’t need to come to Canada to enjoy Just for Laughs. They now produce JFL festivals all over the world, and their remarkable online presence is a huge boon for stand-up fans and the comic hopefuls who hope to ramp up their careers. If you’re an aspiring comic, the ComedyPro gathering gives you a chance to network, pitch, and learn from some of modern comedy’s greatest artists.
So if you need a laugh right now, jump onto JFL’s YouTube channel and watch a couple recent sets or some classic routines (most of the material is NSFW and the videos have ads, sorry—but they’re worth it).
It’s axiomatic that comedy is born of pain, and Jewish culture has always looked to both suffering and humor as sources of wisdom. It’s no wonder then that Montréal’s Jewish community embraced and supported Just For Laughs and helped it thrive.
But Montréal’s Jewish comics aren’t done yet. Check out Yidlife Crisis, an award-winning webseries in Yiddish from Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman (subtitled in English and French).
Each episode is only about five minutes long, but there’s comedy gold in every bite—quite literally in the first episode, as our heroes argue about eating poutine on Yom Kippur.
Yidlife Crisis dives deep into the collision of modern Montréal with traditional Jewish identity and expectations, with lots of laughs. It’s beautifully produced and very droll (especially if you’re familiar with Montreal memes like La Banquise,** MTL’s palace of poutine, or the St. Viateur vs. Fairmount bagel wars).
I also appreciate the show’s mission (how many shows have a mission??) Batalion and Elman wrote Yidlife Crisis with bridge-building in mind, hoping to reach out to the digital generation by putting great storytelling first instead of commercial interest. It’s comedy with a heart and an ethic. So worth watching, nu?
Oh, unless you’re not an adult. Be forewarned, parents: some of the poutine scenes get a little salty, if you know what I mean.
**for those not familiar with Canadian websites, if you look hard enough you can usually find something in the nav bar that will toggle the page between English and French. Oddly but purposefully, this option is not available on many parts of the Québec government’s website despite the federal government’s recognition of the rights of citizens to be served by government in either language.