“The very standardized stand up, with a microphone that does not move, it was not for me”. Anne Grall, comedian, leaves to get ready to go on stage. This former finance employee launched the Greenwashing Comedy Club in 2020. He plays this Wednesday evening at the HOBA in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. About thirty people seated on chairs and small sofas await the artists. Most are traveling for the first time. With Rafaella and Nicolas, also comedians, Anne invites artists to make people laugh on topics of ecology and social justice. A good way, according to her, to “fight against eco-anxiety” and to convey the message of the climate emergency.
“I wanted to do something committed and quirky, which changes from classic stand-up,” explains Anne Grall. On his set, no discrimination, jokes about “women, LGBT + or fat people”. Anne wants an inclusive scene, where everyone feels good, and “where we don’t always hit the same people”. You have to tackle different subjects, and get a message across. At HOBA, consumers who come for a drink are generally residents of the 17th arrondissement, who are not necessarily activists or committed. What Anne likes are the interactions and the reactions. “The goal is above all to be funny and to laugh” she specifies. Everyone is welcome to talk about ecology, but not only.
Green or not green?
This scene, for Anne, “is also an outlet”. “We are eco-anxious” explains the creator of the Greenwashing Comedy Club. She is by her own gestures: “I love clothes, sometimes I buy new clothes, when I know it’s not eco-friendly and it worries me, so I wrote a sketch on clothes”. Laughing at the most difficult subjects is also the goal of this comedy club.
This scene a good way to make jokes that might be censored elsewhere. Most of the comedians present are professional and play in other clubs. Anne, she does not do the same sketches everywhere “I have a joke about freezing my oocytes for example, I don’t do it elsewhere because it would be badly received”. At the Greenwashing Comedy Club, one watchword: we can talk about anything.
At 8 p.m. the show begins. To warm up the room, Anne opens the show with a little game: green or no green. She suggests different sentences: if they are eco-friendly, the public says green, if it’s not, they have to boo. “Wee in the shower” is green. On the other hand, “Rolling with a 4&4” is not eco-friendly according to the public. However, in the room, not all are fervent militants. Anne reassures the public: “Here we try not to be at the Wokistan Comedy Club, so if you’re not green, don’t worry, we’ll accept you anyway” she reassures.
Nicolas is one of the initiators of the Greewashing Comedy Club and regularly comes to make jokes about ecology and social justice.
© / L’Express/IPJ/Mélanie Ravier
The sketches follow one another. Nicolas, comedian, talks about “flexitarian” people, who reduce their meat consumption: “We are a bit like vegetarians without courage” he laughs. He compares them to “flexi-murderers”: “It’s as if a serial killer were telling you: I reduced, I kill twice a week and I try to stop” he laughs between the bursts of laughter from the audience.
This joke makes Marie laugh and think. This student in an environmental master knows the HOBA bar and has seen the comedy club on the program. This Tuesday, she brought back all her comrades. The whole small group sees itself as engaged. They like the self-mockery of this show: “It’s true that we also laugh at us, in the room there are probably a lot of seed eaters” laughs the young woman.
Seven artists follow one another. Anne, Rafaella and Nicolas who prepare the show choose from a base of 20 regular comedians, “But we like to have beginners too”, explains Anne. “Some are committed, others are not, she continues, the goal is also to debate, to compare points of view, but without hurting”.
Laughter above all
Dyphfya, humorist, is a regular at the Greenwashing Comedy Club, this is already the 3rd time he has taken part. Beyond the ecological aspect which particularly affects him, he likes that the set is very mixed: “There are women, queer people (note: who belongs to sexual and gender minorities), but also white men cisgender because diversity is also about being with them,” he explains. It’s a set that combines entertainment and commitment to ecology. For Dyphfya: “there is urgency and when I go on stage it’s because I have something to say, I don’t want people to stop thinking during my scenes”.
When leaving, the spectators are relaxed. This is the second time Theo has come to see the show. He even convinced his friend Manon to accompany him. “I’m interested in ecological subjects, I work in energy,” he explains. Laughing for him is a way to release the pressure, and prevent anxiety from taking over. “These are important subjects but they are serious and hard, so you have to laugh at them, otherwise that’s where you become eco-anxious”.
The next objective of the comedy club is to go play in front of companies, to continue prevention. “Continue to do Greenwashing finally!” Anne has fun.