Comedian Arnaud Soly, an improviser emeritus for fifteen years and a great music lover, has long dreamed of putting on a show at the Maison symphonique that combines improvisation and music. When the Just for Laughs festival asked him if he had any concept ideas for a show, he didn’t hesitate.
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“It’s something of a fantasy that I’ve had for a long time,” says Arnaud Soly of the Grand Concert Improvisé. But I’m not inventing anything with this show. There is musical improvisation. »
In fact, Arnaud Soly often associated with the Wonder-Trois-Quatre, the group of Éric Desranleau, a former member of Mes Aïeux and longtime musician of the LNI.
“They put on a totally impromptu show, as if they were creating a fictional artist’s discography,” he says. They have been doing this at Café Campus for ten years. I’ve done it with them before. It really is a journey. »
Arnaud has therefore decided to invite the Wonder-Trois-Quatre to take part in this concert for Just for Laughs. The group will be there with a dozen musicians. On stage he is accompanied by two other very experienced improvisers: Virginie Fortin and Richardson Zéphir.
“We’ll take turns or sing together,” he said. It will be pure musical improvisation, pure madness. […] We will pick up on the audience’s themes and musical styles. It will be a candy impromptu show. »
Pat and Mat
In addition to this show on Just for Laughs, Arnaud Soly and Virginie Fortin will be joining the Characters Podcast at Le Balcon this Saturday 15th July as part of Zoofest. They will be there with their characters Pat and Mat, who we saw at the last Les Olivier Gala.
These two faux comedians from the 1990s had entertained audiences at the gala, but had also drawn some criticism from older comedians like Dany Turcotte, who felt targeted by the jokes. How did Arnaud experience this little controversy?
“I didn’t look at it as a personal thing,” he said. But it’s true that if you look at the Gala as a whole, there could be an accumulation effect for this generation. […] I keep saying that I wouldn’t be doing this job today if it wasn’t for this generation. »
Positive balance
Last month, Arnaud Soly finished touring his first solo show, Stand Up. He will have given around 180 performances in front of more than 70,000 people. The comedian thinks that first tour was a success as it was fraught with pandemic-related snags.
“We were never able to do a media premiere, so we didn’t get the coverage we could have had. After three attempts to get first place, I told my team to give up because it hurt me too much. From that point on, I started having more fun. There was a letting go. »
” I had a lot of fun. It’s an imperfect show. I can’t wait to make new jokes. »
If we count the slump that began in the fall of 2019, Arnaud Soly will have played his first gig in almost four years. After a summer of spending quality time with his family – he has two daughters, aged 14 months and three and a half years – the comedian plans to present new material twice a week at comedy clubs.
“This winter I will be able to see if we start the second show. I have other projects. I want to write fiction. We’ll also see if Club Soly returns for a fourth season. There are many question marks. »
►Le Grand Concert Improvisé (An evening full of hits that haven’t existed yet)with Arnaud Soly, Virginie Fortin, Richardson Zéphir and the Wonder-Trois-Quatre will take place on July 22 at the Maison symphonique as part of Just for Laughs.