There’s a comedy show in Paris where you pay on the way out.
Not the way in -the way out. You watch the whole show, laugh your face off, and then, at the door, you decide what it was worth to you. It is the most honest business model in entertainment and the most terrifying one I’ve ever agreed to be part of.
On Thursday, I’m on it.
This will be my 5th time in Paris and my first time performing there. On the previous 4 visits, I was a civilian. I ate the cheese, I dawdled along the Seine, I mispronounced “croissant” in ways that made Parisian waiters cringe. I got to simply like Paris, with no strings attached. This time I need Paris to like me back, out loud, in a room, on a schedule.
Emily is on the bill too. (My girlfriend is also a comedian, which means that on Thursday night one of us will have a better set than the other, and then we’ll walk home through the streets of Paris hand in hand, both quietly doing the math on what worked and what didn’t …and why.) Comedy is not a competition. It is, however, rated and scored every 12 seconds.
The show is Coucou Comedy at La Pomme d’Eve, 1 Rue Laplace, in the 5th. Doors at 8pm, show at 8:30pm, and there’s a 1-drink minimum: a rule I have never once in my life needed to be told. Entry is free -you reserve a ticket, watch the show, and pay what you think it was worth on the way out. Suggested €15, though I assume the scale runs from “generous” to “a single centime placed in my palm while maintaining eye contact.”
If you’re in Paris this week, or know someone who is, come along: reserve a free ticket here.
I’ll report back next week and let you know what I was worth…
‘til next time!
Your pal,
PS. Look, if this actually did something for your brain (or at least distracted you from the creeping dread of your own inbox for six minutes), please consider restacking this and sharing it with your people. It’s the only way the word spreads.
