\u201cWe have a duty and responsibility to support and celebrate our local comedians, who can hold their own with comics anywhere,\u201d JFL\u00a0head of programming and talent Nick Brazao has declared. He should know: He was a standup here before moving to the fest\u2019s exec side.<\/p>\n
The hosts of the four shows \u2014\u00a0John Cotrocois, Rachelle Elie, Mike Paterson and Tranna Wintour \u2014 are in an ebullient state at the Comedy Nest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am always Team Montreal,\u201d beams Wintour, a longtime staple on the local scene who will be hosting JFL\u2019s first-ever all-queer Montr\u00e9al Series showcase, Thursday at 9 p.m. \u201cI love this city. There is so much incredible talent here. I\u2019ve always championed it and it\u2019s why I never left. As challenging as it can be, it\u2019s so much worth investing in. It\u2019s our time now and we deserve to shine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wintour points out that the city\u2019s queer-comedy scene has evolved over the last decade. \u201cThe scene is home to some of the most inventive, avant-garde, exciting voices around. I\u2019m so proud of the show we are getting to do now \u2014 a show we could never do before in this series.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cotrocois, who has toiled for seven years on the comedy front after plying his trade on the theatre scene, marvels at the camaraderie among fellow wits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the underdogs, but we\u2019re making it,\u201d says Cotrocois, who hosts Friday\u2019s 7 p.m. spectacle. \u201cThe fact that all four shows are nearly sold out in advance of the festival speaks to the support we\u2019re now getting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elie is marking her 30th\u00a0year in the comedy trade, the last 15 as a standup on both the anglo and franco sides. She has worked throughout the country, but insists Montreal really stands out.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure, a lot of local comedians have left, but what amazes me is that there is a new breed of talent that has come in and is making its mark,\u201d says Elie, hosting the 7 p.m. Thursday show. \u201cThis city never seems to have a shortage of comics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paterson concurs. His 9 p.m. Friday hosting gig marks his 20th JFL appearance. Among the best-known of this city\u2019s comics, Paterson, also celebrating his 30th\u00a0year in the biz, has branched out into film and TV and, like Elie, has become a fixture on the franco side, notably working with Mike Ward.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Friday when I\u2019m hosting here, I\u2019ll first be doing a French gala at Place des Arts and then I\u2019ll be biking on a Bixi as fast as I can over to the Nest for this show. And I couldn\u2019t be more thrilled to be introducing this mostly new group of locals here,\u201d enthuses the hirsute Paterson, who, with his cowboy chapeau and wild shorts, looks like he just slipped off a Calgary Stampede chuckwagon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is how I got my start in the business, doing a Montreal Show so many decades back,\u201d says Paterson, who appeared in the Bob Dylan biopic I\u2019m Not There, starring Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale, and supplies the pipes for Keanu Reeves\u2019s character in the franco versions of Toy Story 4 and 5.<\/p>\n
![\"Just](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0715-city-col-brownstein_304267945.jpg\")
\u201cAudiences will be seeing the cream of the crop here this week, but the fact is the cream of the crop is here every week throughout the year,\u201d says Mike Paterson, left, with fellow Montr\u00e9al Series hosts John Cotrocois, Tranna Wintour and Rachelle Elie, right, in the green room at the Comedy Nest. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
So, what is it about Montreal that brings out all this whimsy?<\/p>\n
Wintour nails it: \u201cThe city is tragically hilarious \u2026 also tragically hip. As much as we love it, there is also this ongoing tension, whether it\u2019s language or culture-related, or whether it\u2019s simply trying to navigate this city physically through all this never-ending construction. This constant tension naturally lends itself to hilarity and informs the comedy that is being made.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adds Elie: \u201cI actually think it\u2019s hilarious that all these streets are closed for festivals and all these other streets are closed for construction that is still going on after two years. It\u2019s like a war zone here. We\u2019re all so impatient.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd yet Montreal is also such a multicultural city, such a melting pot that reflects the comic diversity here. There is such a fascinating mix of great people here, allowing comedians to speak their truths even deeper \u2014 and funnier. I\u2019ve lived in Toronto, I\u2019ve lived in Ottawa, I\u2019ve lived in Vancouver, and dare I say Montreal is the best? Yes, I dare say it, even in spite of all the construction.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s what keeps many of us here \u2014 even non-standups.<\/p>\n
\t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that we\u2019ve got this series, we can\u2019t stop,\u201d Cotrocois says. \u201cWe are strong and are killing it here. Now we have to move on and show the world what we\u2019re capable of. That\u2019s the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adds Paterson: \u201cAudiences will be seeing the cream of the crop here this week, but the fact is the cream of the crop is here every week throughout the year. And the cream always rises to the top \u2026 so said late pro wrestler Randy \u2018Macho Man\u2019 Savage, and who dared argue with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
AT A GLANCE<\/p>\n
The Montr\u00e9al Series takes place Thursday and Friday at 7 and 9 p.m. at the Comedy Nest, 2313 Ste-Catherine St. W., third\u00a0floor. The 44th\u00a0Just for Laughs festival starts Wednesday and runs through July 26.\u00a0For tickets, schedule and more information, visit\u00a0hahaha.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n