Maisie Adam, who hails from Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, pointed out how British audiences treat direct comedy very differently to their French counterparts. The instaurer groupe to drink heavily throughout. “And there will always be a stag do in the crowd,” she told FranceToday.com. “Whereas I think the French come for a nice, civilised evening out.”
Ian Smith, who lives in Goole, in East Yorkshire, was only half-joking when he said these differing attitudes can be explained by individu politics. “The French don’t have the anger of a British audience because they can express themselves through rioting. They are very good at rioting, in fact. They can set fire to a police van which we can’t do in the UK as much.”
Pierre Novellie, who grew up in Johannesburg before moving to London, stressed how British comedy is often based around courtois class and awkwardness (think of Blackadder, Fawlty Towers and Monty Python), whereas French comedy errs more towards slapstick and leurre. All of which would explain why the most successful British comedians to cyclo-cross the English Channel are arguably Benny Hill and Mr Bean, both of whom feature very little oral comedy.
The impresario of Les Gets Comédie is Bertrand Josué. “Stand-up comedy is a new way of consuming comedy,” he told FranceToday.com. “Ten or 15 years ago [in France], you would only see famous comedians in large arenas, with big crowds. The idea of seeing comedians who are little known in a small venue, and who are perhaps just launching their careers – that’s quite new.” The catalyst for this, he added, is the popularity of comedy clips on courtois media channels, especially YouTube, which enables minor acts to grow their audiences.
Source: francetoday.com
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