- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
Funny-side up: Comedy booming in French-speaking Canada
Home to a prestigious comedy school, the world's largest annual laughs festival and nightclubs that pack in audiences for dozens of weekly stand-up shows, comedy is serious business in Montreal.
Hundreds of comedians regularly ply their trade in the French-speaking Canadian city after the number of local stages offering to showcase their talents exploded in recent years.
Improv, topical, observational or deadpan comedy in both French and English, from pioneers such as Tom Green -- host of a popular MTV show in the 1990s -- to newbies trying to find what works on stage, every stand-up style imaginable can found.
Appreciative audiences fill the brisk Quebec night air with laughter, in a province in which comedy shows are a top entertainment draw.
"Comedy in Quebec, we take it seriously," said comedian Simon Delisle.
At the popular Bordel Comedy Club in Montreal, Charles Deschamps -- with a microphone in hand and a staid brick wall as a backdrop -- lets loose on a packed room with joke after joke, eliciting giggles and guffaws from the audience.
Opened in 2015, the comedy cabaret presents several shows a night -- and usually sells out even before the line-up is finalized, said Deschamps, who is also part-owner of the club.
Building on its runaway success, the cabaret doubled its capacity by opening a second stage last year and expanded its bookings.
"It's a way to relax," says a grinning Manuel St-Aubin, 27, a regular at the club.
At the Bordel, "the laughter is loud, people applaud a lot," observes Certe Mathurin, contrasting Canadians' outbursts with more muted Paris audiences.
The French comedian plans to start his fourth comedy tour in Quebec, calling the Canadian province -- which has hosted Just For Laughs, the largest international comedy festival in the world, for decades -- "the Mecca of humour."
"It's a pilgrimage for comedians: whether you're French, Swiss, Belgian... you have to go to Quebec because they are at the forefront of French-speaking humor," adds the 37-year-old.
- What's so funny -
Before performing on stage, many seek training at the National School of Humour in Montreal.
Founded in 1988, the school graduates about 30 comedians each year, including Roman Frayssinet who went on to great success in France -- which current student Felix Wagner, 27, hopes to emulate.
Inside a classroom with curtains drawn, one of Wagner's schoolmates rehearses a comedy routine. His teacher, Stephan Allard, tells him he needs to "work on the material so that it flows better."
There are also lessons in creativity, improvisation, and career management, and each week students are required to present in class a new five-minute stand-up routine.
Allard says they help students locate their funny bone -- whether they mine their own lives for inspiration, or find their material in news or pop culture -- and zero in on which bits "are funniest on stage."
The program also helps them firm up their writing and to develop a "signature" style to differentiate themselves from others, he added.
"Going to the school allowed me to perform in comedy clubs in Paris, even though they didn't know me, in places where it's normally difficult to get a gig," such as the Paname or Fridge comedy clubs, said Virginie Courtiol, a first-year student who uses the alias "Beurguy" onstage.
The 34-year-old French comedian riffs on topics such as menstruation and having had an abortion.
Once that kind of humour about women's bodies would have been taboo -- but as Deschamps says, "there is always an evolution."
J.Williams--AMWN