For the past two years, Le French Comedy Club has been organising stand-up comedy nights in French across Australia. Having started in Sydney and Melbourne, the event is now touring all of Australia’s major cities, making its debut in Adelaide this weekend. It’s not just a stand-up night – if you’ve always dreamt of taking to the stage, Le French Comedy Club offers you the chance to learn how to write your own five-minute sketch and perform it in front of a live audience. The founders realised two things: humour is, above all, cultural, and it feels good to get together with other French speakers, to laugh in your mother tongue and to spend an evening feeling as though you’re at home. We spoke to Donia, one of the founders of Le French Comedy Club.
Tell us about French Comedy Club ?
Le French Comedy Club is the French-speaking stand-up scene in Australia. We bring French speakers together around laughter for an evening. It feels a bit like being at home, and honestly, it does you good!
You’ve been doing this in Sydney for a few years now, and since then you’ve added Melbourne, Perth and, this weekend, Adelaide. Is your aim to organise these French-language comedy nights regularly in all the major cities?
Yes! We’ve been organising French-language stand-up nights in Sydney and Melbourne for two years now. This year, we’ve decided to step it up a gear by expanding Le French Comedy Club to all of Australia’s major cities: Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide!
Our aim is to organise regular French-language stand-up nights across Australia, but also to give a chance to those who’ve always dreamt of taking to the stage. We give them the opportunity to learn how to write their own five-minute sketch and come and perform it in front of a real audience!
Our aim is to organise regular French-language stand-up nights across Australia, but also to give a chance to those who’ve always dreamt of taking to the stage.
Tell us how the shows have changed since the first one in Sydney?
Our shows have become much more professional since the first one in Sydney! We started out as amateurs, and since then, professionals have joined us. We ourselves have gained a lot of experience, both in creating the shows and in the energy we bring to the stage.
But it has to be said that we were already pretty good at our very first show! We’d practised relentlessly for months and learnt a great deal, particularly about writing sketches and putting together a proper show.
Today, we’ve gone from amateurs to professionals, and it’s pretty amazing when you look back at how far we’ve come!
Who’s behind Le French Comedy Club? Why did you decide to launch these events?
Behind Le French Comedy Club are Donia and Selim! We’re two French people living in Australia – we’re now permanent residents and are waiting to become Australian citizens. We love this country and our life here, but we’re also big fans of comedy clubs and stand-up.
When we used to go and see stand-up shows in Sydney, we realised one thing: humour is, above all, cultural. Even with a very good command of English, we don’t necessarily share the same references, the same background or the same way of looking at things. Humour also stems from our childhood, our upbringing, our personal experiences and the things we’ve shared.
we don’t necessarily share the same references, the same background or the same way of looking at things. Humour also stems from our childhood, our upbringing, our personal experiences and the things we’ve shared.
And it’s true that when we went to Australian comedy clubs, we didn’t always find the sort of humour that used to make us laugh back in France.
But there was also another, more personal reason. When you’re an immigrant in Australia, even if you’re very happy with your life here, you’re still far from your home country, your family and your friends. And sometimes, it does you a world of good to get together with other French speakers, to laugh in your mother tongue and to spend an evening as if you were at home.
We also felt there was a lack of events capable of bringing the whole French-speaking community together, beyond after-work get-togethers or evenings aimed at young people. We wanted to create an event that would bring together all generations and all socio-cultural backgrounds around something universal: laughter.
We wanted to create an event that would bring together all generations and all socio-cultural backgrounds around something universal: laughter.
And finally, we wanted to give a chance to people who have always dreamt of doing stand-up. Because performing on stage in English is even more challenging when it’s not your first language, especially when you realise just how much humour relies on cultural references.
It’s for all these reasons that we set up Le French Comedy Club: to bring French speakers together, have a laugh together and give everyone the chance to take to the stage in their own language.
It’s for all these reasons that we set up Le French Comedy Club: to bring French speakers together, have a laugh together and give everyone the chance to take to the stage in their own language.
Tell us a bit about yourselves. Where are you from? How long have you been in Australia? Have you ever performed at comedy nights in France?
We’re both from the Paris region and we’ve been living in Australia for seven years now!
Yes, we’ve had the chance to perform at several comedy clubs in France, including the Vigs, Gad Elmaleh’s Comedy Club and the Canaille Comedy Club in Marseille, as well as a few venues in Paris. Whenever we go back to France, we’re lucky enough to be part of the line-up at well-known comedy clubs.
But we’ve mainly built up our experience in Australia, as since 2024 we’ve been organising several stand-up nights a month with Le French Comedy Club!
These are stand-up nights open to French speakers, including beginners who’d like to take to the stage. How many beginners do you have for this Saturday in Adelaide?
Yes! As there are few French-speaking comedians in Australia, we decided to train people who dream of taking to the stage ourselves. In two years, we’ve mentored and trained over 50 comedians across Australia!
In two years, we’ve mentored and trained over 50 comedians across Australia!
This Saturday in Adelaide, we’ll have two newcomers who’ve worked incredibly hard to prepare for their time on stage. There’s Pandore, who has a completely off-the-wall style and has long dreamt of taking to the stage, and Samuel, our Quebecois, who also has a style all of his own and plenty of talent!
For us, stand-up comedy is about so much more than just telling jokes. It’s a genuine journey of personal development. You have to dare to take the plunge, learn to write material, build your self-confidence and have the courage to step out in front of an audience.
For us, stand-up comedy is about so much more than just telling jokes. It’s a genuine journey of personal development. You have to dare to take the plunge, learn to write material, build your self-confidence and have the courage to step out in front of an audience.
We’re really proud and delighted to support expats and immigrants in Australia on this adventure, to give them the chance to express themselves in French and, above all, to give them the opportunity to take their first steps on stage!
Who is your favourite French-speaking comedian?
There are so many we love that it’s hard to pick just one! But our favourites are: Roman Frassinet, Sofia Bellabes, Nadim and Kheiron
Why should French speakers in Adelaide come and check out Le French Comedy Club this Saturday?
To have a laugh in French, get together with everyone and, above all, laugh until your cheeks ache! It’s as simple as that!
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
We can’t wait to see you at all our events! You can find all the information on our website www.lefrenchcomedyclub.com, on Instagram and on Facebook : @lefrenchcomedyclub.
Come and cheer us on! We’re doing all this to bring you joy and happiness, and above all to bring the French-speaking community together through laughter.
And if you’ve always thought that one day you’d like to try stand-up, get in touch! We’d be delighted to support you, teach you how to write your five-minute stand-up routine and give you the chance to take to the stage with us!
Le French Comedy Club is, above all, a human adventure, all about sharing and lots of laughter!
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We thank Donia for this interview and hope to see Le French Comedy Club soon.
KEY INFO FOR LE FRENCH COMEDY CLUB
WHAT : Le French Comedy Club, Francophone stand-up
WHERE, WHEN AND HOW:
ADELAIDE Norwood Hotel, this Saturday 14 November at 5:30pm and 8:30pm. Tickets here
MELBOURNE Aflie’s Bar, Friday 20 November at 8pm. Tickets here
PERTH The Chelsea Social, Saturday 28 November 5pm and 8:30pm. Tickets via this link
SYDNEY Potts Point Hotel, Thursday 26 November, 7:30pm. Tickets via this link
