The City Laughs Stand-Up Comedy and Urban Space Transformations in Oran

Abstract

This article examines stand-up comedy as an artistic practice rooted in urban space, exploring its relationship with the city of Oran. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and Bourdieu's conceptual framework (field, capital), it traces how comedic artists built their careers through the interplay of digital and physical urban spaces, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. It analyses two key venues: the Qant Comedi as an experimental laboratory, and Theatre La Fourmi as a site of formal consumption. The article concludes that stand-up comedy in Oran does not merely reflect urban reality, but actively participates in its production and reconfiguration