In 'Batsu,' the Comedy Is Punishing
Beer gushed down my throat as I chugged a whole cup without taking a breath. In the most ladylike way possible, I dropped to my knees and began pushing a lime across the stage with my nose. At the edge, I used all the strength my little nose could muster to try to drop the fruit into a mug. I failed miserably.
The Singha beer tower challenge is hard. Downing cups of beer in a race against the opposing team is not difficult, but the “pushing a lime” part is tricky.
This is “Batsu!,” a hilariously improvised Japanese game show right in the heart of the East Village. Impromptu games are played by members of the Face Off company, and occasionally audience members get thrown into the mix.
Meaning “punishment” or “penalty” in Japanese, it was quite clear that due to the show’s namesake, I was not going to leave the stage unscathed. Praying to escape the paintball gun that had provided the night’s first batsu, my team and I lined up to receive our punishment.
When a large hairy man came out wearing nothing but a grass hula skirt, I knew we were in trouble. Four pieces of sushi were placed on his belly, soy sauce poured in his belly button and chopsticks handed to us.
“Batsu! Batsu! Batsu!,” the audience chanted as we took our penalty.
Hosted by Kenji America and featuring his mistress of torture, Noriko Sato, the show is a ridiculous riot with some incredible improv actors. Styled after Japanese game shows, “Batsu!” throws in physically painful penalties for losing teams that include actors sticking their hands in a bowl of mousetraps and have clothespins attached to their face.
“What makes the idea so beautiful is that even if we’re not funny, it’s still going to be funny because we’re doing ‘Jack Ass’ style stuff up here” Jay Painter, Face Off co-founder and “Batsu!” creator, explained. “Seeing people in pain is something that everyone thinks is funny. Everybody has a good time every time.”
Face Off’s other co-founder and “Batsu!” actor, Eric Robinson agrees.
“People love to see people on stage getting beat up,” he said.
And the show has plenty of that. The evening ended with the company members doing impressions (suggested by audience members) while wearing shock collars. Every time a comedian failed to impress, Noriko hit them with violent static pulses.
The show, while still in its infancy, is not new. In 2002, a group of actors began performing an improv comedy show in Long Island called “Friday Night Face Off.” In 2009, Painter and Robinson established Face Off Unlimited, which encompasses a myriad of shows and Face Off University, their improv school.
“Batsu!” began its open run in January after a preview last November with Robinson, Painter and Face Off director of operations, Joe Tex, performing regularly. A fourth actor or guest star rotates into the group. Alexander L. Hill was hysterical as the fourth member (and part of my losing beer challenge team with Robinson) while I was there.
Showing me the welt on his chest from where he was shot earlier in the night with a paintball gun, Robinson makes it clear that comedy is their passion.
“We do it for the laughs,” Robinson said. “Everything is in the spirit of that.”
“Batsu!” is performed every Monday at 8 p.m. at Jebon Sushi & Noodle. Tickets are $14 and well worth the money. Sponsored by Singha beer, everyone who participates in the show (after signing your life away on a waiver) gets a free beer and a ticket to another performance.
With a whole week before the next “Batsu!,” I will be practicing my lime pushing skills before I go back to one of the most entertaining Monday nights in the city.
Pictured: Members of Face Off willingly take their batsus. (Photo: Courtesy of Face Off Unlimited)
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