Elie Semoun « Cactus »

Elie Semoun arrives with CACTUS, his new show, at the Espace Encan in La Rochelle on March 21, 2026. After thirty years on stage, he pushes stand-up further while keeping his characters. Microphone in hand, he observes life as it comes, then shifts into a gallery of characters that reflect the times, alternating between stories and sketches. You meet Jean Abdul opening the show; a son who takes his father to visit a nursing home; Xavier, who has a motor disability, introducing his wife to his mother; a father confronted with his son’s transition; and a racist karate instructor. CACTUS also tackles sensitive ground such as sexual harassment and religion. The tone is direct, the angles sharp, and the approach remains playful, with the blend of subtlety and audacity that has accompanied Elie Semoun since the start of his career. Taboos, intolerance, conflicted emotions and injustices: he puts everything on the table and turns these subjects into stage material, somewhere between stand-up and character work.