Joely takes on the Palais des Sports challenge with "Marina Mafy"
Making people laugh while restoring Malagasy humor to its rightful place: this is the challenge Joely has set for himself with "Marina Mafy", his new show scheduled for September 13 at the Palais des Sports. Organized by Ivenco with support from Orange Madagascar, the event marks an important milestone for the comedian, who says he feels both honored and aware of the magnitude of the challenge. "It's a great honor to present my show at the Palais des Sports. I'm also a bit afraid, but I have confidence because people trust me," he confides.
Through this performance, Joely carries above all an artistic ambition: "My objective with this show is to restore the value and place of humor in Madagascar, to give it back its dignity and bring it fully back into the world of art." The choice of the Palais des Sports thus takes on particular significance, with the comedian emphasizing that he is proud to take on this challenge solo on a stage of this scale.
"Marina Mafy" draws heavily on the world of childhood. A photograph of Joely as a child, visible on the poster, occupies a central place in the show's concept. "This child on the poster has a real connection to the show. It's him who goes to the Palais des Sports," explains the comedian. The show will notably revisit his childhood, the different experiences that marked his life, and more broadly, those experienced by Malagasy people during their childhood.
Joely has been working on writing the show for about six months and continues to make corrections to the script. He hopes to offer a performance that could last up to three hours without interruption, as he wishes. On stage, he will primarily play his own character, with some references to characters he has already embodied on social media, particularly through their voices.
In his desire to develop stand-up, Joely has also made a call to young comedians to provide the opening act. He was looking for four stand-up comedians, with five minutes each, to give them real visibility on a big stage. The initiative generated numerous applications.
Cassie Ramiandrasoa