Karim Slama
Slapstick that transcends language barriers
Nominated for the «Schweizer Kleinkunstpreis» 2017
Ebullient comedian Karim Slama’s hilarious one-man shows delight audiences on both sides of Switzerland’s French/German divide. Born in Lausanne in 1976 to a Tunisian father and a mother from German-speaking Switzerland, he discovered improvisational theatre in school at the tender age of 13. But it is not until 2001, after training as an engineer, that he takes the plunge into the world of humour as part of the legendary satirical radio programme “La Soupe”. His first solo programme, “Le Film 1” is created that same year, and is followed by numerous appearances on radio and TV in French-speaking Switzerland. Improvisation becomes a fixture in his stage work: Slama has taken part in the world improvisational theatre competition in Montreal three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2005. He received the “Prix des Arts de la scène” from the Fondation Vaudoise pour la Culture in 2011.
His wryly humorous take on the absurdities of everyday life is also to the fore in his other solo programmes “Karim Slama cherche un peu d’attention” (2005), “Karim Slama cherche encore un titre pour son spectacle” (2009) and “à part ça, globalement, ça va plutôt bien”. Starting in 2008 he enjoys equal success in German-speaking Switzerland with the German version “Karim Slama bittet um etwas Aufmerksamkeit”. This is followed by “Welsch ein Slamassel” (2014) and “Knacknuss” (2016), also in German, making him one of the few artists from the cabaret scene to have national impact. His performances are accompanied by taped music and a specially created soundscape. Slama is always seeking out new challenges, performing in collectives such as the “Le Caméléon” theatre forum, with Zirkus Knie and in the spectacle “Fabrikk” by Karl’s Kühne Gassenschau. Most recently, he has adapted French-speaking Swiss comic book artist’s Zep’s “Titeuf” for the stage.
