The international comedy festival "Marrakech du Rire" opened on Wednesday evening in the presence of an avalanche of comedy stars. The inaugural show took place on the stage of the Royal Theatre with a show orchestrated by the very famous comedian Hassan El Fad, who paid tribute to Moroccan traditions through his participatory show "la Halqa", alongside other comedians and artists, both national and foreign.
Placed under the sign of diversity, this show featured, among others, the Sefrou Brass Band, the Moroccan-American violinist, singer, and composer Amir Ali, the French comedian Patrice Thibaud, the Moroccan-Quebecois comedian Rachid Badouri, the actress Mouna Fettou, the Arlequin theatre troupe, the Moroccan-Ivorian comedian Tahar Lazrak (Wallace), and the Algerian artist Cheb Bilal. Created in 2011 at the initiative of the new "Coluche of a black-blanc-beur France", Jamel Debbouze, the "Marrakech du Rire" Festival returns in 2013 with an edition rich in stars from several backgrounds. Indeed, this edition presents itself as a great vintage in that it brings together, in addition to the heavyweights of comedy that are Jamel Debbouze and Hassan El Fad, brilliant talents of the new wave of young Moroccan comedians like Eko, Rachid Badouri, Malik Bentalha, Youssef Ksiyer, and foreign stars, including the comedian Patrice Thibaud. The shows are spread over several sites, including the Royal Theatre, the majestic Badiâ Palace, the French Institute, and Dar Attakafa. On the programme, shows full of novelties written especially for the occasion and shows hosted by exceptional comedians with overflowing imagination.
The public can thus discover, during the five days of the Festival, Rachid Badouri, surfing between his Moroccan roots and his Quebec life in his shows "Arrête ton cinéma !" and "Badourimania"; Abderrahmane Ouaabad, better known as Eko, who returns this year with his new show "Ch'tatata" in which he takes the public on a journey from his childhood to his adolescence, passing through his schooling; Malik Bentalha with his show "Malik Bentalha se la raconte" retracing his journey from Loudun, a small town in the Avignon suburbs, to Paris where he discovers the "struggles"; Youssef Ksiyer, winner of the 2011 edition of the Scènes Ouvertes de Marrakech and a rising value of Moroccan stand-up with his show "Biodégradable"; and Patrice Thibaud in his show entitled "Cocorico", a show based on the comedian's bodily virtuosity and his sense of observation. Laughter aficionados also have an appointment with the "Jamel Comedy Club" troupe in a collective show and with Hassan
El Fad, this time with his 100% autobiographical show "Aïn Sebaâ", in which the comedian recounts his childhood in this Casablanca neighbourhood through anecdotes and funny situations that will make you bend over with laughter.
It should be noted that the Festival will end on June 9 at the Badiâ Palace, a majestic place steeped in history, which will become a theatre for an evening with, around the jester of Trappes, Jamel Debbouze, a galaxy of renowned comedians. Note that since its creation, the international comedy festival "Marrakech du Rire" has organised a charitable operation to support a Moroccan association. For this third edition, an action is carried out for the benefit of the "Al-Karam" Association, very active in the field of protecting children's rights and their social integration. Finally, let us specify that this great festive event, with so many headliners, benefits from wide media coverage both nationally and internationally, among others, the French television channel "M6", the international French-speaking television channel "TV5", and the Moroccan channel "2M".
The Comedy Competition
The Festival renews last year's experience by going in search of budding comedians. A major competition is organised for this purpose to select eight to ten Moroccan candidates who had to present a sketch or a stand-up in French. The Masterclass castings are provided by the French comedian, composer, and director Oscar Sisto. The winner is called upon to compete on Friday at the International Young Talents Stage of the "Marrakech du Rire". This competition should pit, in addition to the winner of these Masterclasses, the winners of the Grand Rire Festival of Quebec, the Voo Rire Festival of Belgium, the Humour en Capitale Festival of Paris, as well as those of the Comedy Club.
