Just For Laughs Festival, presented by Bell in collaboration with Loto-Québec, is thrilled to pay tribute to the biggest names in the comedy business at the 2018 Just For Laughs Awards Show, presented by Bell. This year’s recipients are: Tiffany Haddish (Comedy Person of the Year), Hannah Gadsby (Comedy Special of the Year for Nanette), Jo Koy (Stand-Up Comedian of the Year), Lil Rel Howery (Breakout Comedy Star of the Year), and Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch (Comedy Writers of the Year for GLOW).
The 11th annual Just For Laughs Awards Show, hosted by Alonzo Bodden, takes place on Friday, July 27 at 3:00PM in the Grand Salon Opera, Hyatt Regency Montréal.
Tiffany Haddish has multiple high-profile projects and buzz worthy appearances to her name and has quickly become one of the most sought-after comedic actresses and performers. After a breakout performance in Girls Trip, she can now be seen opposite Tracy Morgan on the TBS comedy series The Last O.G; as host of the 2018 MTV Movie and TV Awards; stars along fellow JFL Award recipient Lil Rel in Summit Entertainment’s summer box office smash Uncle Drew; also starring alongside Kevin Hart in the upcoming Universal Pictures’ Night School; and voicing the lead character, Tuca, in the upcoming Netflix animated series Tuca & Bertie. Haddish has made history by becoming the first black female stand-up comedian to host Saturday Night Live and made the New York Times Best Sellers List with her memoir, The Last Black Unicorn. Tiffany has been touring to sold-out crowds across the continent and will also be hosting her first Just For Laughs Gala, Saturday, July 28 at 11:00PM at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts.
Hannah Gadsby has created a global phenomenon with her self-described swan song, and tenth stand-up show, Nanette. This powerful and critically-acclaimed show has seen Hannah win; Best Comedy at the Adelaide Fringe Festival; the Barry Award for best show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Helpmann Award for best comedy performance. Following sold-out runs in the United States and Europe, Nanette recently premiered on Netflix to roaring reviews, taking over headlines around the world. Hannah will also be performing Nanette live for the last time at the Just For Laughs festival on Thursday, July 26 at 9:30PM at Maison Théâtre.
Jo Koy’s Break The Mold Tour broke the record for most tickets sold by a comedian at Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu with 11 sold-out shows and over 23,000 tickets sold. As one of today’s premiere stand-up comedians, Jo Koy is bringing his infectious and explosive energy to the Just For Laughs stage on Saturday, July 28 at Maison Symphonique, Place des Arts.
Lil Rel Howery, star of FOX’s upcoming sitcom REL, shot to fame after his role in Jordan Peele’s Academy-Award winning film, Get Out. His stand-up special RELevent premiered on Comedy Central and was produced by Kevin Hart, who he recently opened for on his American tour. The special was named one of the 10 best stand-up specials of 2015 by Vulture.com, and has become a favourite of fans and comedy heavyweights. He currently can be seen starring alongside fellow JFL Award recipient Tiffany Haddish in Summit Entertainment’s summer box office smash film Uncle Drew. Lil Rel can also be seen hosting Lil Rel and Friends on Saturday, July 28 at Cinquième Salle, Place des Arts.
Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch are the co-creators behind the Netflix sensation Glow. Liz Flahive writing credits includes all six seasons ofNURSE JACKIE and was an Executive Producer on the show, and Consulting Producer on Season 5 HOMELAND. Flahive is also an accomplished playwright. Her play THE MADRID starring Edie Falco, opened at the New York City Center in early 2013. Before creatingGLOW, Carly Mensch was a Supervising Producer on Netflix’s ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, wrote on NURSE JACKIE as a Producer then a Supervising Producer for two seasons, and WEEDS as a writer for three seasons. She is a playwright with an MFA from Julliard.
The Just For Laughs Festival runs from July 11 to July 29, 2018 in Montréal, Canada. Just For Laughs ComedyPRO, the leading industry event of the comedy business, runs from July 25 to July 28, 2018 at the Hyatt Regency Montréal.
