“So, Israel or Palestine? » When, this December 9, Waly Dia arrives in khaki pants, black t-shirt and half-range, half-sneaker shoes on the stage of the Théâtre de la Clarté, in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine), he immediately plunges the hundred spectators into the (heavy) geopolitical atmosphere of the moment. “Come on… Oh? It’s too early ? “, immediately defuses the one who also serves as a sniper columnist on France Inter, in “Le Grand Dimanche soir”, with this frank and mischievous signature smile which allows him to exorcise the worst news. For an hour and ten minutes, the 35-year-old stand-up artist drills down the punchlines and scenography of his next show that evening, An hour to kill, scheduled from 1er February 2024 at the Théâtre de l’Œuvre, in Paris.
“The idea is that it’s a show that’s neither completely written nor accomplished, but that you still pay for it! » : 25 euros for 50% already written jokes and 50% improvisation to test the jokes with the audience. A good deal considering his undeniable talent as an author-winnower, as irreverent as he is anchored to the left. An immersion also in the mechanics of a show in the process of being constructed. A sort of “meta-stand-up”. Waly Dia places his smartphone on a high table next to a bottle of water, which he will not uncork. “I’m going to record you, he explains to his audience. It is in relation to the DGSI [la direction du renseignement intérieur]. They never give me the audio files of the listenings, so… and then I don’t want to be the only “S file” tonight. You too ! »
He has already planned to listen to these “audio files” the next day with his co-author, Mickaël Quiroga, whom he met at the Jamel Comedy Club, with whom he has been refining his texts since 2012. He watches over the management, records the mistakes on paper. that work (or not), interactions with the public that work (or not). “I scratched seven pages of notes this evening”, confides Mickaël Quiroga, who is also an author for comedian and actor François-Xavier Demaison. The two accomplices never stop, call each other ten times a day and share a strong taste for hip-hop culture.
Laughter despite everything
M The magazine of the World chose laughter as a common thread for its end-of-year issue. In thirteen episodes, find these portraits, reports or investigations on the power of humor.
Episode 1 : Mohammed Amer, once upon a time there was a Palestinian in America
Episode 2: Blanche Gardin, the comedians after her
Episode 3: Waly Dia, fine blade of political sleight of hand
Episode 4: Grandpamini, the art of the satirical cover
Episode 5: Bassem Youssef, a scathing irony on the Israel-Hamas conflict
Episode 6: In Israel, comedians answer the call
Episode 7: Chinese comedians don’t mess around with censorship
Episode 8: In Ukraine, laughter as a bulletproof vest
Episode 9: You asked for Pierre The Police, don’t quit
Episode 10: “I was explaining to them that when I met you, you were the biggest petomane in France”
Episode 11: In Quebec, inclusive humor can be learned
Episode 12: Humor would no longer be what it was or the myth of “it was better before”
Episode 13: Joke to alert, the new mode of action of environmental activists
In addition to the Dr. Dre cover which serves as the soundtrack to the show, they draw from the rap lexicon for a certain number of their gimmicks. Waly Dia imagines, for example, a “featuring” (the term used for collaborations between rappers) between the “yellow vests” and young people from the suburbs. “Waly really has something of a rapper, a conscious rapper,” observes Charline Vanhoenacker, the producer of “Grand Dimanche Soir”, who recruited him three years ago and has been struggling for almost two months with the “Meurice controversy”, named after another of his star columnists.
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