On July 30, Panayotis Pascot announced seven shows at the Bordel, the Terminal and the National, from August 3 to 8. The next day, all were sold out. Proof that the French comedian draws crowds on both sides of the Atlantic and that his career is benefiting from the success of his first book, Next time you bite the dustsold over 200,000 copies since last September.
This is not the first time that the Frenchman has come to test his equipment in Quebec. In an interview, he said he appreciates the fact that the culture of stand-up has been established here for much longer than in France. “Quebecers are used to running-in work and they have a love of the idea more than the punch line,” he explains. Even if the number is not finished in terms of delivery, they will be welcoming to the idea behind the jokes.”
When asked if his literary success explains the ability of his theaters to fill up in the blink of an eye, he has difficulty in saying. “Obviously, the book has something to do with it, but I don’t have enough perspective to give concrete figures.”
Let’s talk about this bestseller in which he explores his strained relationship with his dying father, his difficulty in assuming his homosexuality and his conflicted relationship with emotions. A book written without a filter. “I try not to summon the third eye of judgment when I write, even for the stage. My new show will deal with quite personal subjects and I never ask myself the question of what people will think.”
The clown is sad
His very personal story also addresses his long depressive episodes and dark thoughts, at a time when a growing number of comedians are opening up about their depression, bipolarity and suicidal thoughts. One need only think of Michel Courtemanche and the documentary The clown is sad in which Mario Jean, Cathy Gauthier and Erich Preach participated, among others.
To do comedy, you have to take a step back from life. We’ve all had extremely embarrassing anecdotes in high school that don’t make us laugh at the time, but that we can tell with a laugh as adults. Our job as comedians is to find this distance as quickly as possible.
Panayotis Pascot
Panayotis Pascot also points out that if we remove the jokes from comedy routines, we often discover dark subjects. “Several comedians make us laugh about their divorce, about the fact that their children hate them or about their loneliness.”
He also believes that humor is a form of security. “Most comedians were slightly strange kids, lonely or looking for their place in their family. Humor was a point of contact for them to feel loved quite easily. Then, we made it a strength that serves us professionally.”
If his professions as a comedian and writer benefit from his great capacity for observation, his keen sense of analysis can also play tricks on him. “I am constantly analyzing the risks of each word and each action. Very analytical brains are always in control. However, I think that happiness comes into life when we let go of control.”
In his book, he writes that he is not easily affected by emotions and does not let himself be penetrated by life. An idea that surprises, since he must be a vector of laughter and emotion with the public. “In my personal life, I am not very comfortable with the free expression of emotions. But to write the book, I stored a lot of emotions for weeks, then it was like bursting a pimple to get the pus out. It serves me artistically.”
While he describes his first show as about a child trying to become an adult and kill his father, he doesn’t mention his parents at all in the second, which is called Between the two. “I talk about this phase during which we are no longer children, but we do not yet have one ourselves,” says the 26-year-old French comedian. “I have trouble understanding the usefulness of this phase. In the show, I think about whether I am interested in becoming a father, how I could become one and if I am developed enough to be one.”
Although his career is filled with film roles, literary writing and television projects, he is devoting himself entirely to his new show these days. He has already announced about forty dates in Paris, 45 in the rest of France, Belgium and Switzerland. “I also hope to be able to return to Montreal soon.”
Visit the comedian’s website