From comedy clubs to a Zenith tour, this is the comedian who’s about to explode onto the scene: Nino Arial, a former banker turned stand-up, has become, thanks to his improvised punchlines and caustic exchanges with his audience, a phenomenon on the French comedy circuit. The comedian, who is rapidly rising on social media, will make his very first appearance in Polynesia in 2027 at the invitation of SA Productions, Radio 1 and Tiare FM. He will present his one-man show Not Like Them on May 21 at the Grand Theatre. Tickets have been on sale since this Tuesday.
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Many people have already crossed paths with his bohemian look and laid-back vibe on social media or YouTube. A facade that can be deceptive: Nino Arial is a sharp shooter, unleashing each night volleys of razor-sharp quips often born from his exchanges with the audience, and thus entirely improvised. A style that has recently propelled him to meteoric success. The former banker, who navigated through the preparatory classes for HEC and business schools, punched through a cynic milieu about a decade ago. But there’s no question of tucking away his blunt humor: it’s in stand-up that he will forge his new life. From open mic nights to comedy clubs, he quickly caught the eye. And his online videos have finished turning him into a phenomenon: he now racks up 70 million views every month on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or YouTube, and 1 to 2 million followers per platform.
And the success is far from virtual: his first show, Not Like Them, Nino Arial has already brought on tour, often selling out, all across France, with his name displayed on the Olympia, on the facades of the Zeniths, and even making appearances in foreign comedy clubs. In the midst of this tour, the 36-year-old comedian will treat himself to his first appearance in Polynesia, at the invitation of SA Productions, Radio 1 and Tiare FM. It will be on May 21, at the Grand Theatre, where his “big brother,” former roommate, and another “sniper” of the French stage Redouane Bougheraba had been cheered last year.
The Polynesian audience will thus get to know this new king of tailored punchlines, in constant conversation with the crowd, who also takes aim, as the evenings unfold, at pétanque fans as well as manicure-clad girls “like Groot,” politicians, his former boss, or his own family. Always biting but never mean, he is especially his own first target, not hesitating to open up in these exchanges about his love troubles, his thirties doubts, or his sometimes comical encounters in the showbiz world.
“Not Like Them,” Nino Arial’s one-man show, on Friday, May 21 at the Grand Theatre of the House of Culture. Tickets on sale at ticket-pacifique.pf, in Carrefour stores, and at the reception of Radio 1 and Tiare FM in Fare ute.
